Department for Transport

Airports

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the 10 largest airports in the UK by passenger volume of there being no deal between the UK and the EU.

Mr John Hayes: The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, and plans to negotiate the best possible relationship between the UK and EU in the field of aviation. This includes the implications for airports and passengers. We will continue to work closely with the international aviation community to ensure that this global industry continues to be a major success story for the UK economy. We do not want or expect a no deal outcome, but we have a duty to plan for the alternative. Both the EU and the UK have a common interest in getting the best outcome.

Railways

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the capability of (a) Thameslink, (b) Southern and (c) Great Northern effectively to roll out new (i) rolling stock, (ii) timetables and (iii) traffic management systems.

Paul Maynard: The Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise was developed to facilitate the delivery of the significant investment programme on this part of the network, including the £7bn Thameslink Programme. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), the current franchisee has successfully delivered new rolling stock fleets and timetables since the start of its franchise. GTR continues to deliver the transformational changes to passengers necessary for the Thameslink Programme including new rolling stock and timetables and it is working with Network Rail to implement new technologies, including traffic management systems.

M11: Accidents

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fatal accidents occurred on the M11 motorway in each year since 2010.

Jesse Norman: Numbers of fatal accidents on the M11 motorway for each year since 2010 are as follows: 2010 – 32011 – 12012 – 12013 – 12014 – 22015 – 52016 – 1

Electric Vehicles: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the installation of charging points for electric cars in the West Midlands.

Jesse Norman: The Government has in place generous UK-wide funding schemes to assist with the cost of installing electric vehicle chargepoints in motorists’ homes, on residential streets and at workplaces; of which the West Midlands can take advantage. In addition to these, Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton City Councils in the West Midlands have all received funding via our Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Taxi Scheme to install chargepoints and infrastructure for electric taxis. Coventry has received £1.2m to install 39 chargepoints by 2020. Birmingham has received £2.93m for 197 chargepoints and Wolverhampton has received £478k for 24 chargepoints by 2020.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Civil Aviation Authority and (b) trades unions on the safety record of Super Puma helicopter models (i) EC225LP and (ii) AS332L2 in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Mr John Hayes: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has lifted operating restrictions on H225LP and AS332L2 helicopters. The restrictions were imposed following the fatal accident of a H225 helicopter in Norway in April 2016. The two helicopter types, popularly known as Super Pumas, were restricted from being used commercially by UK and Norwegian operators. The restrictions have been lifted after receiving extensive information from the Norwegian accident investigators and being satisfied with the subsequent changes introduced by Airbus Helicopters through detailed assessment and analysis. A plan of checks, modifications and inspections needs to be undertaken before any flights take place. It will also be for operators and their customers to decide whether they wish to re-introduce the helicopters to service. In order to resume operations individual operators will need to supply safety cases to ensure that they have all the necessary measures (procedures, processes, tooling and training) in place for a return to service. To date no UK operators have done so. The CAA continue to work with the helicopter operators, the offshore industries, international regulators, unions and pilot representatives to enhance offshore safety standards still further and all these parties are actively involved in ongoing discussions.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has conducted a cost benefit analysis of returning Super Puma helicopter models (a) EC225LP and (b) AS332L2 to workforce transport operations in the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Mr John Hayes: The safety of those who travel on offshore helicopter flights is a key priority for both the UK and Norwegian aviation authorities. The CAA would not have made the decision to lift operating restrictions on these Super Puma helicopters unless they were convinced that the changes to the helicopters and their maintenance restore the required airworthiness standards. A plan of checks, modifications and inspections needs to be undertaken before any flights take place. It will also be for operators and their customers to decide whether they wish to re-introduce the helicopters to service. In order to resume operations individual operators will need to supply safety cases to ensure that they have all the necessary measures (procedures, processes, tooling and training) in place for a return to service. To date no UK operators have done so. Now that restrictions have been lifted, a cost benefit analysis is a matter for operators and their customers.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional flight hours have been accrued to date by other helicopter models following the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision of 11 May 2016 to suspend the commercial use of Super Puma helicopter models (a) EC225LP and (b) AS332L2 in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Mr John Hayes: The Department does not hold this information. The CAA does collect hours flown data as part of the process for maintaining the certificate of airworthiness for each aircraft, but this data is at the aggregate level (i.e. not broken down by operational uses) and only up to the end of the previous year (i.e. those in 2017 would have provided 2016 data).

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the potential merits of a public inquiry into the safety of helicopter transport in the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Mr John Hayes: In 2014 the CAA published a comprehensive strategic safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of the exploitation of oil and gas. The review examined the risks to helicopter operations to support the oil and gas industries in and around the North Sea. It was conducted in conjunction with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority and was peer-reviewed by independent experts. It identified a wide range of opportunities to improve the safety of those operations and resulted in significant changes in safety that were introduced as quickly as possible and welcomed by everyone involved. The CAA will continue to work with the helicopter operators, the offshore industries, international regulators, unions and pilot representatives to enhance offshore safety standards still further.

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the comparative safety record of Super Puma helicopter models (a) EC225LP and (b) AS332L2 operated commercially in the (i) North Sea and (ii) internationally over each of the last ten years.

Mr John Hayes: Following the fatal accident of a H225 in Norway in April 2016, these two helicopter types, popularly known as Super Pumas, were restricted from being used commercially by UK and Norwegian operators. The Civil Aviation Authority has remained in close contact with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); the Civil Aviation Authority of Norway; UK and Norwegian operators; and with the manufacturer, Airbus Helicopters which has developed the modifications and enhanced safety measures for the Super Puma Model. The restrictions have been lifted after receiving extensive information from the Norwegian accident investigators and being satisfied with the subsequent changes introduced by Airbus Helicopters through detailed assessment and analysis. A plan of checks, modifications and inspections needs to be undertaken before any flights take place. It will also be for operators and their customers to decide whether they wish to re-introduce the helicopters to service. In order to resume operations individual operators will need to supply safety cases to ensure that they have all the necessary measures (procedures, processes, tooling and training) in place for a return to service. To date no UK operators have done so.

High Speed Two

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the most recent tailored review of HS2 Ltd was carried out.

Paul Maynard: The last triennial review (now known as the tailored review) for HS2 Ltd was conducted in 2011. The report into this review is provided in the following link. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3654/hs2-ltd-triennial-review-2011.pdf

Transport: Infrastructure

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: What discussions he has had with the President of the Board of Trade on the potential merits for future UK trade of better integrating road and rail infrastructure.

Jesse Norman: The Department’s Transport Investment Strategy makes clear that we can and must seek to enhance our global competitiveness by making Britain a more attractive place to trade and invest. There are a number of initiatives in this area, including: A Port Connectivity Study that is considering the levels of current road and rail access to our ports. Effective links to ports are a fundamental part of a successful supply chain; The Clean Growth Strategy is examining cost-effective options TO shift more freight from road to rail; and The Department will be working closely with the National Infrastructure Commission as it examines the UK’s freight sector and new measures by which Government can help businesses transport their goods faster and more efficiently.

*No heading*

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: If he will include Nissan electric vehicles in the Government’s car fleet.

Mr John Hayes: Nissan electric vehicles already form part of the Government Car Service Fleet. Currently there are six Nissan electric cars in operation.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Leasehold: Fees and Charges

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to ensure that leaseholders are not charged exorbitant rates.

Alok Sharma: The Government is committed to tackling unfairness and increasing transparency in the leasehold sector.The consultation, Tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market, considered a number of issues within the leasehold sector including the sale of new built leasehold houses, and onerous ground rents. The consultation also sought views on what further areas of leasehold reform should be prioritised and why.The public consultation, which closed on 19 September, received around 6,000 replies. We are carefully analysing the responses, and will issue the Government response very shortly.The Government is also seeking views on the regulation of letting and managing agents and the approaches government could take to implement any such regulation. The Call for Evidence: Protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/protecting-consumers-in-the-letting-and-managing-agent-market-call-for-evidence and closes on 29 November 2017.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the timetable for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to rehouse Grenfell Tower households in permanent accommodation; what assessment he has made of the capacity of that local authority to meet that timetable; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has committed to provide survivors from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk with a permanent new home in social housing within one year of the fire. We are working closely with RBKC to support them to deliver this commitment, and receive regular updates on rehousing progress, which we continue to monitor carefully.Following the fire, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government set up the independent Grenfell Recovery Taskforce to provide assurance that RBKC has the capacity and capability to deliver an effective long term recovery plan for its residents, taking into account their views. In his statement to the House on 6 November, the Secretary of State echoed the conclusion of the Taskforce’s first report that the pace of delivery by RBKC was too slow and needed significant improvement. I expect the Council to do whatever is necessary to ensure households can move into settled homes as swiftly as possible. It is important that the rehousing proceeds at a pace which respects the needs, wants and situations of survivors but we have been equally clear that bureaucratic inertia must not add delay.

Affordable Housing: Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote the construction of affordable housing in Cornwall.

Alok Sharma: Affordable housing is a Government priority. That’s why we are:Investing £9 billion in our Affordable Homes Programme to March 2021 to help councils and housing associations to build more homes, including social rent homes.Providing rent certainty to 2025 to support stable investment environment.Supporting councils with an extra £1 billion of borrowing to build more homes where demand is greatest.Supporting all developers by continuing to reform the planning system to ensure that we plan for and build enough of the right homes in the right places.The Homes and Communities Agency has allocated around £31 million funding from the Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 in Cornwall, and last year we saw a 60 per cent increase in the number of affordable housing starts and an 18 per cent increase in completions.

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Non-domestic Rates

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether Hinkley Point C will be on the central rating list for business rates.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government believes that it is right to provide stability and certainty for local government in terms of whether hereditaments should be assessed on the central list or local ratings lists. As part of its commitment to greater rates retention the Government intends to set out a clear statement of policy for which properties and ratepayers should be assessed to the central list.The Government believes that the core purpose of the central list will be, as now, to provide a home for hereditaments which by their nature are not suitable for being assessed on a local rating list. Such hereditaments are likely to be those spanning several local rating list areas and not primarily located in one list.

Coastal Areas: Economic Growth

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support economic growth and job creation in Coastal Communities.

Jake Berry: Under the Coastal Communities Fund we have funded 278 projects worth over £170 million across the UK. These are forecast to deliver over 18,000 jobs and generate £363 million in new visitor expenditure. Round 5 of the Fund opens in early 2018 and will provide a further opportunity for coastal communities to apply for grants to support jobs and growth in their area.We have also provided £1.46 million to support 146 Coastal Community Teams along the English coast. The teams bring together the local authority, community and businesses to develop an Economic Plan to set out both short term and longer term priorities to enable their area to promote economic growth.Local Growth Deals are also providing coastal Local Enterprise Partnerships with funding to promote economic growth and job creation in their coastal communities.

Business Improvement Districts

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the areas in which a feasibility study for a Business Improvement District has been conducted, in each of the last 3 years.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which feasibility studies for a Business Improvement District have been (a) approved and (b) allocated funding in each of the last 3 years.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the funding allocated to each Business Improvement District and the consultant in receipt of that funding.

Jake Berry: Since we launched the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) Loan Fund in October 2013, 24 areas have or are receiving loans of up to £50,000 each to help set up a BID. The 24 areas that have received or are receiving Loans are Abingdon, Altrincham, Bermondsey, Blyth, Burnley, Central Milton Keynes, Cheltenham, Eastbourne, Hastings, Heart of London, Hereford, Hexham, Leicester, Lifford, Litchfield, Minehead, Morpeth, Oxted, Poole, Purley, Runcorn, Sheffield, Watford, York. We do not allocate general funding to each BID in England or keep records of consultants working on BIDs.The process of conducting feasibility studies for BIDs is a matter for local areas. We do not approve or allocate funding to those studies nor hold records of which areas have undertaken a feasibility study.

Business Improvement Districts

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the (a) result and (b) turnout of businesses of each referendum conducted on proposals for a Business Improvement District in each of the last 3 years.

Jake Berry: The outcome for each Business Improvement District ballot is published locally by the relevant ballot holder. The Government does not hold data on the result and turnout of ballots for Business Improvement Districts.

Temporary Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) households and (b) children were in temporary accommodation in December in (i) York, (ii) North Yorkshire and (iii) England in each year since 2010.

Mr Marcus Jones: Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting the help they need and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head.My Department publishes regular statistics on temporary accommodation. These are published at national, London and local authority level. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.

Green Belt

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on the use of greenbelt land in local plans when there are insufficient brownfield sites.

Alok Sharma: The National Planning Policy Framework encourages local authorities to prioritise re-use of suitable brownfield land for development, and to adopt Local Plan policies that support the take-up of brownfield. Moreover, each local authority is now legally required to publish a register of local brownfield land by 31 December 2017. These new registers will bring many more sites to the attention of house-builders and investors. However, brownfield sites differ, and not all will be available or in the right place for sustainable redevelopment. It is therefore for each local authority, in consultation with local people, to decide what land to allocate for development, as part of the Local Plan process.The Framework sets out strong protections for Green Belt, stating that inappropriate development should be refused permission except in special circumstances. Green Belt boundary may be altered only in exceptional circumstances, using the Plan process. In the Housing White Paper, Fixing our broken housing market, we proposed that a local authority should be able to alter a Green Belt boundary only when it can show that it has examined all other reasonable options for meeting its development needs. Besides brownfield, the options included under-used land; optimising the density of development; and exploring whether other authorities could help. We will announce our conclusions as soon as possible in 2018.A local authority can consider any suitable land, but should have regard to all relevant policies in the Framework. For instance, the Framework also asks local authorities to direct development away from the best and most versatile agricultural land, and to recognise the character and beauty of the countryside.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Prince Harry: Marriage

Gavin Robinson: To ask the secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to designate a public holiday to mark the occasion of the marriage of HRH Prince Henry and Ms Meghan Markle.

Margot James: The Government offers warmest congratulations to HRH Prince Harry and Miss Meghan Markle upon their engagement. As has previously been announced, there are no plans for a bank holiday for the wedding.

Fracking: Ryedale

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for a decision to be made on hydraulic fracturing consent under s.4A of the Petroleum Act 1998 for Third Energy’s KM8 well in Ryedale; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: There is no set timeframe for decision-taking. The Department is carefully considering the application submitted for Third Energy’s KM8 well in Ryedale and will respond appropriately in due course. Yesterday, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State issued a Direction to the Oil and Gas Authority which will impact on the existing application submitted by Third Energy and certain other applications by operators seeking to carry out hydraulic fracturing in future. I would refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement that accompanies that direction which provides further details. This can be seen here.

Fracking: Ryedale

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what correspondence the Department has received from Third Energy on the timetable for a decision on hydraulic fracturing consent under s. 4A of the Petroleum Act 1998 for that company's KM8 well in Ryedale; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: The Department is in regular contact with the shale gas industry, including with Third Energy, on a range of policy matters. The Department is carefully considering the application submitted for Third Energy’s KM8 well in Ryedale and will respond appropriately in due course. There is no set timeframe for decision-taking. Yesterday, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State issued a Direction to the Oil and Gas Authority which will impact on the existing application submitted by Third Energy and certain other applications by operators seeking to carry out hydraulic fracturing in future. I would refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement that accompanies that direction which provides further details This can be seen here.

Construction: Billing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2017 to Question 113349, on construction: billing, when he plans to publish the results of the consultations on payment practices within the construction sector.

Margot James: The deadline for responses to both construction payment consultations is Friday 19 January 2018. Consultation outcomes will be published within 12 weeks of the close of the consultations or an explanation if this is not possible.

Business

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2017 to Question 112764, on business, which sectors have indicated an interest in developing a Sector Deal referred to in that Answer; and when he plans to sign deals with each such sector.

Claire Perry: Since the publication of our Green Paper, a large number of industries have signalled their interest in Sector Deals and we have been working with many of them in recent months. We will continue to engage all those sectors that have submitted expressions of interest over the months ahead.

Competition and Markets Authority

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to evaluate the performance of the Competition and Markets Authority.

Margot James: In line with Civil Service rules, the Department undertakes an annual review of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to ensure that it is an accountable, high-performing organisation, delivering value for money. It also regularly monitors the CMA’s progress against its business plan. The performance of the CMA is set out in its annual report and accounts which can be accessed on GOV.UK.

Industrial Strategy Council

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government's paper, Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future, published in November 2017, whether the proposed Industrial Strategy Council will include representatives of the trades unions.

Claire Perry: Council members will be invited on the basis of their expertise, experience and skills. Membership will be finalised over the coming months. We will think carefully about how Trade Unions can best support our Industrial Strategy.

Arts

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's paper, Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future, for what reason does it not include proposals for a Sector Deal for the creative industries.

Claire Perry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 September 2017 to Question UIN 8628. A proposal from the creative industries was one of the earliest ones we received. As such we are in advanced discussions with the sector about developing an ambitious Sector Deal.

Artificial Intelligence

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he received from industry representatives on the Artificial Intelligence sector deal.

Claire Perry: The Artificial Intelligence sector deal builds on the review by Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Jérôme Pesenti - Growing the Artificial Intelligence Industry in the UK - which involved an extensive range of business leaders, academics and research councils. Contributing companies are thanked in the review’s acknowledgment.Likewise, the Industrial Strategy White Paper, which Government published on 27 November, draws on the comments and preferences of nearly 2000 companies and individuals, as well as the input generated by the meetings, workshops and roundtables that we held with industry and businesses.The Data-Driven Economy Grand Challenge and Sector Deal will establish an enduring partnership between industry, academia and the government through the UK Data and Artificial Intelligence Council, where all partners will work together to promote the safe, fair application of this technology.

Industrial Strategy Council

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for the creation of the new independent Industrial Strategy Council.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria will be used by the Industrial Strategy Council to monitor the implementation of the Industrial Strategy.

Claire Perry: The Industrial Strategy Council will be independent and tasked with taking a long-tern view. It will be responsible for putting the right evaluation and reporting structures in place to assess our progress. We will begin the process to establish the Council as soon as possible. Our aim is for it to start work in spring 2018.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Zimbabwe: Armed Forces

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Zimbabwe on ensuring the monitoring of the activities of the Zimbabwean Defence Force and their return to barracks.

Rory Stewart: The UK has had regular contact with the Zimbabwean Government over the last two weeks. Most recently, I met with incoming President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday. Officials have also met Chief of Defence Staff General Chiwenga.These dramatic political events were clearly triggered by a military intervention. But the most important thing now is that Zimbabweans are able to exercise their constitutional right to elect a civilian government. This can only happen through free and fair elections. A re-establishment of a civilian-led government with a clear separation between the party and the state must be a priority. The UK has made this clear to the Government of Zimbabwe.

Overseas Aid

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the effective management, transparency and accountability of its aid budget.

Sir Alan Duncan: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes conform to the department’s robust management and assurance processes to ensure they deliver value for money for the UK taxpayer.

UN Mission in Darfur

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN Security Council on its decision to close UNAMID sites in Darfur, Sudan.

Rory Stewart: ​The Security Council most recently held consultations on UNAMID and the situation in Darfur on 15 November. During this session, we urged fellow Council members to closely monitor the impact of UNAMID's reconfiguration, and carefully consider whether the situation on the ground remains conducive to further changes. We are in regular contact with UNAMID and are monitoring the reconfiguration of the Mission closely.The security situation has evolved in much of Darfur, and therefore we supported the Security Council's decision in June to reconfigure the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). However we recognise that the security situation remains fragile. Therefore, our priority is to ensure that changes made to the Mission are done sensibly, with appropriate review points, and to make sure that a smaller, more flexible UNAMID is still able to fulfil the core components of its mandate.

North Korea: Detainees

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Chinese Government on North Koreans detained in that country following their crossing into China.

Mark Field: We are aware of reports of North Korean refugees in China.Despite claims by the DPRK authorities that forcibly repatriated refugees are well treated and reintegrated into DPRK society, reports suggest that they are often mistreated by the authorities.We raised the issue of non-refoulement​​ directly with the Chinese authorities at the UK-China Human rights Dialogue, which was held in Beijing on 27 June.

Israel: Palestinians

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Israel regarding the forced transfer of Palestinians from Jabal al-Baba, Ein al-Hilweh and Umal Jmal.

Alistair Burt: The UK is gravely concerned by Israeli proposals to relocate the Bedouin population from the E1 area. The UN has said that this could constitute forcible transfer.We have been clear about our concerns with the Israeli authorities and we regularly raise the matter through our Embassy in Tel Aviv. These plans could have a devastating impact on the communities concerned and will likely open the way for further settlement expansion – endangering the viability of the two-state solution.We follow developments closely. Staff from our Consulate General in Jerusalem visited Jabal al-Baba on 9 November, and both Ein al-Hilweh and Umm al-Jammal on 22 November. We also provide legal aid to the community at Jabal al-Baba through our support to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

China: Christianity

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Chinese counterpart on the case of Christians prevented from leaving that country to attend a Protestant Reformation event in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 14 November.

Mark Field: The UK Government is concerned by any restrictions placed on Christians in China. The freedom to practise, change or share your faith or belief is a fundamental human right that all people should enjoy. I am alarmed to hear that Christians may have been prevented from leaving the country on the basis of their religion or to attend a religious event and my officials are seeking further information.The UK Government has raised these concerns about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief directly with the Chinese authorities at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 27 June. We also issued an item IV statement at the 35th UN Human Rights Council in June and will raise the latest matter at the earliest future opportunity.

Mali: Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken to promote freedom of religion and belief in Mali.

Rory Stewart: The UK supports the full implementation of the Algiers Accord of 2015 which cites respect for religious freedom as one of its core principles. In addition the UK has supported a Community Reconciliation and Peacebuilding Project for the past three financial years, which works with communities, including mixed faith communities, in Mali to promote mutual understanding and reduce conflict.

Turkey: Freedom of Expression

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart on upholding freedom of speech in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have long encouraged Turkey to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, particularly in the area of freedom of expression. We will continue to engage the Turkish government on these issues and to urge respect for media freedom, which is essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy.

Syria: Turkey

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on that country's occupation and bombing of the Kurdish border regions of Northern Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​As members of NATO and the Global Coalition, the UK regularly discusses the situation in Syria with our Turkish Allies, and monitors events on the ground closely. The situation in Northern Syria remains complex. We encourage all parties to cooperate in the fight against Daesh.

Turkey: Arms Trade

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussion he has had with Cabinet colleagues on UK arms exports to Turkey.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​All export licence applications are considered against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria on a case by case basis, in light of prevailing conditions. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence regularly provide advice to the Department for International Trade on UK arms exports, including to Turkey.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on (a) negotiations and (b) agreements between Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Mark Field: The UK has repeatedly urged Burma's Government to ensure the return of refugees who have fled to Bangladesh, and to work with the Government of Bangladesh to ensure this takes place in a safe, voluntary and dignified manner. The UK proposed and secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 6 November which made clear this was also the call of the international community.The Governments of Burma and Bangladesh signed an agreement for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees on 23 November. This is available online: http://www.newagebd.net/article/29149/index.php .This agreement covers refugees who fled to Bangladesh since October 2016. It includes a commitment from the Government of Burma to allow refugees to return to their original places of residence or a safe and secure place of their choice. These commitments are a positive step but we need to see them implemented in practice. We also call for Burma to extend the same commitment to Rohingya who fled from Burma before October 2016.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the (a) physical security and (b) security of rights of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh of any return to Myanmar within the next two months.

Mark Field: The UK has been clear that it is essential that the Rohingya refugees be able to return safely, voluntarily and in dignity to their homes in Burma. I underlined the requirement for refugees to be secure on return to Rakhine in ​meetings with Burma's Minister of Defence, its Deputy Foreign Minister, and Aung Sun Suu Kyi's Chief of Staff on 20 and 21 November. The UK proposed and secured unanimous support for a UN Security Council presidential Statement on 6 November which urged the Government of Burma to ensure the voluntary return of all refugees in conditions of safety and dignity to their homes, and equal access to full citizenship for all individuals. It also called on the Burmese authorities to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights, freedom of movement, equal access to basic services, and equal access to full citizenship for all individuals. On 24 November a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that conditions in Rakhine State were not in place to enable safe and sustainable returns. The Government will continue to monitor these conditions in cooperation with the UN and international partners to ensure that any implementation of the Burma-Bangladesh refugee return agreement guarantees the physical security and security of rights of the returning Rohingya refugee returns.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Burma on ensuring that no Rohingya refugees are returned to Burma without guarantees about their (a) safety, (b) citizenship and (c) land.

Mark Field: The UK proposed and secured unanimous support for a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 6 November which urged the Government of Burma to ensure the voluntary return of all refugees in conditions of safety and dignity to their homes, and to allow equal access to full citizenship for all individuals.In his phone call to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on 21 October, the Foreign Secretary called on her to implement her commitment to ensure the return of refugees.I underlined this call in his meetings with Burma's Minister of Defence, the Deputy Foreign Minister, and Aung Sun Suu Kyi's Chief of Staff on 20 and 21 November. I​stressed the need to ensure security for returnees.The Governments of Burma and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 23 November for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees. The UK Government will press for quick progress on implementation of this bilateral agreement. We will be clear that any returns must be safe, voluntary and dignified, and that there must be appropriate international oversight.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the equity of the repatriation deal signed by the Governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar on 23 November 2017.

Mark Field: ​The UK has been clear that it is essential that the Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh must be able to return to Burma safely, voluntarily and with dignity. Moreover, the Burmese authorities must ensure equal access to full citizenship for all individuals. The UK proposed and secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 6 November which made clear that this was also the call of the international community.The agreement signed on 23 November between the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh includes this commitment in respect of Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh since October 2016. It also includes a commitment from the Government of Burma to allow refugees to return to their original places of residence or a safe and secure place of their choice. These commitments are a positive step but we need to see them implemented in practice. We also call for Burma to extend the same commitment to Rohingya who fled from Burma before October 2016​.The UK believes appropriate international oversight of the agreement and its implementation is very important. Bangladesh has committed to involving the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the implementation of the agreement. The UK calls on Burma to also commit to this.

British Nationals Abroad: Torture

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British nationals have requested that the Government formally espouse their legal claims for damages following allegations of torture or ill-treatment by officials or agents of foreign governments since 1 April 2005.

Rory Stewart: We do not hold such statistics.

British Nationals Abroad: Torture

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many claims by British nationals of torture abroad have been formally espoused by the Government since 1 April 2005.

Rory Stewart: We have no such statistics.

British Nationals Abroad: Torture

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s criteria are for determining whether formally to espouse a legal claim of torture by a British national.

Rory Stewart: ​Her Majesty's Government has discretion about deciding whether to formally espouse a claim. The Government will only consider doing so if a foreign government has acted unlawfully under international law and is responsible for an injury to a British national and it can be shown that the British national has exhausted all available local remedies.

Qatar: Muslim Brotherhood

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department discussed with the Government of Qatar on 7 June 2017 that country's alleged support for the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK provided through (a) the Nectar Trust and (b) other UK-registered charities.

Alistair Burt: The UK and Qatar have a close bilateral relationship that allows us to discuss a range of issues. However we are not aware of recent discussions with the Government of Qatar about this subject.

Cabinet Office

Absent Voting

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2017 to Question 9559, on electronic voting, whether he plans to trial postal votes only for parish or town council elections.

Chris Skidmore: The Government has no intention of mandating postal votes for local and parish council elections. It is the Government’s position that electors should have the choice between voting in person, by proxy or through a postal vote. Furthermore, mandating postal voting in any poll would require all electors to provide ‘postal vote identifiers’ (e.g. signature and date of birth as are used now) to support voters securely casting a postal ballot. The Government is concerned that this would suppress turnout, and that mandating postal voting for a particular type of poll would ultimately prejudice some electors by making it harder for them to vote.

Electoral Register: Armed Forces

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of tracking military personnel who are serving overseas on the electoral register.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 15 November 2017



The most recent annual Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) includes information on self-reported levels of electoral registration. The latest data are that 96 per cent of Officers are registered to vote and 81 per cent of other ranks are registered to vote. The Government is committed to ensuring that Armed Forces personnel have an equal chance to participate in elections while serving overseas. The Government will publish a democratic engagement strategy in December setting out our plans to continue to improve registration levels, including for Armed Forces personnel.

Prime Minister: Nurseries

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what childcare facilities 10 Downing Street makes available for its staff; how much 10 Downing Street spent (a) overall and (b) per child on those facilities in the last 12 months; and how many of 10 Downing Street's staff use those facilities.

Caroline Nokes: Holding answer received on 13 November 2017



No10 do support the provision of childcare facilities for employees. If staff are based in London, they can apply for a place on the Westminster Holiday Playscheme which is provided by a third party. Children aged 4 years 9 months to 12 years are eligible to attend the playscheme, which runs during school holidays. If staff are based outside London and use a playscheme close to their home, the department will help with the cost of using the playscheme as long as the supplier is registered to provide childcare services. The cost of the playscheme is shared between the department and the parent. Overall expenditure on the playscheme facilities for last financial year 2016/17 totalled £2,828.00 The department contributed an average of £78.56 per child during financial year 16/17, with a total of 27 staff using the facilities.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Nic Dakin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Government Ministers are routinely accompanied by Government officials when they meet foreign government ministers and officials.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 13 November 2017



It is longstanding and established practice that Ministers are accompanied by officials when meeting foreign Government Ministers and officials.

Charities: Grants

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure the accuracy of charity numbers data published by the Government Grant Information Service.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 13 November 2017



Central departments are responsible for ensuring the data entered onto the Government Grants Information System is accurate. The Cabinet Office Grants Efficiency Function has provided a link to the Charity Commission site to facilitate the accurate inclusion of charity numbers. In addition the Cabinet Office performs regular checks on the data, as part of the data cleansing process and prior to publication of the Grants Register.

Anti-corruption Champion

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has appointed an anti-corruption tsar; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 20 November 2017



An announcement on the anti-corruption champion appointment will be made in due course.

Older People: Glasgow Central

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) women and (b) men attained the age of 100 in Glasgow Central constituency in each year since 2005.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 142.94 KB)

Mental Health

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the number of people suffering chronic loneliness (a) nationally and (b) in Sheffield.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 212.61 KB)

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) geography, (b) demography, and (c) socioeconomic factors on levels of  electoral registration in parliamentary constituencies.

Chris Skidmore: We are committed to building on the successful introduction of online registration - now used by more than 30 million citizens - to ensure that everyone eligible to take part in our democracy can do so. Later this year we will publish a democratic engagement plan setting out evidence on levels of electoral registration across the country and our intended steps for maximising registration.

Anti-corruption Champion

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to name a new anti-corruption champion.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 28 November 2017



An announcement on the anti-corruption champion appointment will be made in due course.

Corruption

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to publish a new anti-corruption strategy?

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 28 November 2017



The government is working on a new Anti-Corruption Strategy which will be published in due course.

Electoral Register

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to publish its findings and recommendations on consultation on access to elections, and what steps it is taking to ensure that no-one is disenfranchised in 2018 local elections in London.

Chris Skidmore: The Government launched the Call for Evidence on access to elections to support the Government’s commitment to make the electoral system fully accessible for all electors. 256 responses were received to the consultation which closed on 14 November. The Government, in partnership with the members of the Cabinet Office chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group, which includes representatives from leading charities and key electoral stakeholders, will now review the evidence received and produce a report of key findings and recommendations. We plan to publish the report in Spring 2018.A range of measures are in place that are intended to ensure that the electoral process is as accessible and user friendly as possible, for all types of electors and elections. We will soon lay draft legislation to improve the accessibility of the anonymous registration scheme for survivors of domestic violence, which I hope will be implemented in time for the 2018 local elections. We also recently implemented the findings of an accessibility review on the “Register to vote” website which will make it easier for people with disabilities to complete voter registration and participate in the democratic process.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2017 to Question 10233, when the Government plans to publish the democratic engagement strategy.

Chris Skidmore: The Government is working towards publishing its Democratic Engagement Plan before Christmas.

Electoral Register

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people eligible to vote who were not on the electoral register in the last five general elections in (a) the UK and (b) Lewisham Deptford constituency.

Chris Skidmore: Information regarding the total number of unregistered people of voting age is not held by the Government. Only totals for the number of registered electors are held, and these can be accessed through the Office For National Statistics website. It should be noted, however, that registration levels have increased at every General Election since 2005, and the register used for the 2017 General Election was the largest in our history, standing at 46.9 million entries. This is undoubtedly due, in large part, to the introduction of the Government’s Register to Vote website, which has delivered great benefits to electors, making registering to vote simpler and more accessible than ever before. It is the Government’s intention to build on this success by publishing a Democratic Engagement Plan in December, which will have the ambition of making the General Election in 2022 the most inclusive to date.

Department for International Development

Refugees: Disability

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to UN refugee camps for disabled refugees.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information her Department holds on the number of disabled child refugees in UN refugee camps.

Alistair Burt: Neither DFID, nor the UN Refugee Agency has exact figures on the number of child refugees with disabilities in UN refugee camps. The UK is also pressing the UN Refugee Agency to ensure that all protection and assistance programmes are accessible to all vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities so that no one is left behind. The UK has two dedicated programmes supporting refugee children in Jordan and provides support to people with disabilities in the region.

Rohingya

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure Rohingya refugee children are being educated in newly established refugee camps.

Alistair Burt: The UK is the largest contributor to the Education Cannot Wait initiative, investing £30m between 2016 and 2018. Education Cannot Wait has committed US$3 million (£2.2 million) for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Education Cannot Wait’s response will help cover more than 70 percent of the emergency educational needs of Rohingya refugee children until the end of 2017.DFID is developing an ambitious new education policy to get some of the most marginalised children learning now. We are also reviewing options for further funding as part of its longer term response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. We are helping education experts and organisations to work with the Ministries of Education in Bangladesh and Burma, to agree on a curriculum and certification process for Rohingya children in Cox’s Bazar.

South Sudan: Violence

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, If she will increase development assistance for preventing and responding to gender-based violence in South Sudan; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current programmes.

Rory Stewart: UK funding in South Sudan is currently fully committed to 2020; this includes a four year programme (2016-2020) with International Medical Corps that includes a significant element for gender based violence (GBV) prevention and protection in South Sudan, and support to the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM) in order to improve reporting on gender based violence. All programmes are subject to regular assessments of performance. We have exceeded our annual target this year and have reached just under 300,000 women, girls, men, and boys with GBV interventions.

Developing Countries: Overseas Trade

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to promote trade between the UK and least developed countries.

Alistair Burt: The UK is a proud advocate of supporting developing countries trade their way out of poverty. The Government has introduced the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill which will enable us to create a UK trade preference scheme to maintain existing tariff free access to the UK for Least Developed Countries as we leave the EU.

International Assistance

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to develop a mechanism to (a) release funding to and (b) assess how much is directed at local and national actors in humanitarian crises in line with the objectives of the Grand Bargain 2020.

Alistair Burt: DFID already releases funding to local and national actors in humanitarian crises in line with the objectives in the Grand Bargain. In specific terms DFID continues to fund the START Fund, the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) as part of its Grand Bargain commitments.DFID is closely following the Grand Bargain workstream on localisation, led by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Swiss government. Currently discussions are ongoing on how best to track this commitment. Once an approach has been agreed, it is likely that an international mechanism will be used for assessing the commitment e.g. OCHA’s Financial Tracking System, which applies to all donors, not just the UK.

Sudan: Droughts

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to assist people affected by drought and extreme hunger in the Nuba mountains region of Sudan.

Rory Stewart: Through the Department for International Development, the UK is the largest contributor to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF), providing £16.5 million in 2017. The SHF provides lifesaving food, health, water, and other assistance to internally displaced people and vulnerable communities in Sudan, including Government controlled areas of the Nuba mountains region in South Kordofan.The UK Government has welcomed the Government of Sudan’s acceptance of the US proposal to provide humanitarian aid to the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile). We have continued to urge the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) to immediately agree to the US proposal, in order to enable humanitarian aid to reach those in rebel controlled locations in the Two Areas.The implementation of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Roadmap Agreement is the only sustainable path to peace in the Two Areas, and we urge all sides to lose no further time in returning to the negotiating table.

South Sudan: Poliomyelitis

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the ability of South Sudan to maintain its vaccine programme after the global polio eradication initiative in that country has been wound down.

Rory Stewart: South Sudan has been polio free since June 2009. The UK supports the eradication of polio globally through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which has reduced polio cases by more than 99% since its launch in 1988. In preparation for the world to be certified polio-free and the corresponding ending of GPEI funding, GPEI is supporting countries to plan for this transition and ensure that investments made to eradicate polio contribute to future health goals. Given the fragile situation, South Sudan has been selected as one of 16 countries who are receiving additional in-country technical assistance for transition planning and the UK-led Health Pooled Fund, South Sudan’s largest health programme, is improving access to healthcare including routine immunisations for children. For South Sudan to remain polio-free, these efforts are focussing on increasing vaccination coverage and maintaining essential surveillance systems.

Lake Chad Basin: Humanitarian Aid

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the current humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad region?

Rory Stewart: According to the United Nations, 10.8 million people in the Lake Chad Basin require humanitarian assistance, including 2.3 million that are displaced from their homes, and 7.2 million that suffer from severe food shortages. We are monitoring the situation closely, including through regular field visits by DFID staff based in the region.

Lake Chad Basin: Humanitarian Aid

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support (a) humanitarian and (b) stabilisation programmes in the Lake Chad region.

Rory Stewart: The crisis in the Lake Chad Basin that affects Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Niger and Chad is a priority for my Department. In 2017, we are providing £100 million in humanitarian assistance to northern Nigeria and over £14 million to other regions bordering Lake Chad, which will for example provide food assistance to more than 1.5 million people and reach 120,000 children with life-saving treatment for severe acute malnutrition. The UK is also providing over £8 million for stabilisation in the Lake Chad Basin region, including helping communities better respond to and manage the effects of violent conflict.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to the Government of Bangladesh to support refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh, and our total package of support since August is £59m. UK support that is already programmed will provide emergency food for 174,000 people, lifesaving nutritional support to more than 60,000 children under-five and over 21,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, safe drinking water, emergency latrines and hygiene kits for more than 138,000 people, and emergency shelter for over 130,000 people.The Secretary of State for International Development just returned from Bangladesh, where she urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to plan for what looks certain to be a protracted crisis. The Secretary of State assured her that the UK stands ready to provide further support to both refugees and their host communities

Developing Countries: Poverty

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make representations to her international partners on the proportion of gross national income which they dedicate to global efforts to eradicate poverty.

Alistair Burt: It is for other governments to decide what percentage of gross national income (GNI) they will allocate as Official Development Assistance (ODA), however in her engagement with international partners the Secretary of State will highlight the importance the UK Government places on meeting the UN target to spend 0.7% of GNI as ODA.She will also make clear, as outlined in the UK Aid Strategy, the vital role that international development activity plays in tackling global challenges which threaten the security and prosperity of donors, such as mass migration, climate change and disease, as well as meeting our moral obligation to help the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.

Department for Education

Children: Exercise

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on collating and publishing examples of good practice such as The Daily Mile in increasing children’s physical activity levels in schools.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are aware of a number of active mile programmes working with schools. Active miles are an excellent opportunity for schools to support their pupils to be physically active throughout the school day.Officials have met with representatives from active mile providers and will continue to discuss good practice. This will ensure that active mile programmes can best meet the needs of schools and enable pupils to be physically active throughout the school day.The government has worked with physical education (PE) and school sport partners to identify good practice examples for the PE and Sport Premium. They have been published on the Teaching blog at:https://teaching.blog.gov.uk/category/pe-and-sport-premium/.The government has doubled the primary PE and Sport Premium to £320 million a year from September 2017. Updated guidance was published in October 2017 and case studies were published via the Teaching blog site on GOV.UK.

Swimming: Primary Education

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether an assessment has been made of the sufficiency of funding for the primary school swimming programme in all parts of the UK; what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of training of the staff  on that programme and whether teachers have professional expertise regularly updated; and if he will ensure that the swimming programme is offered by all primary schools to all children.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the physical education (PE) curriculum at key stages 1 and 2. The department is responsible for the PE curriculum and the PE and Sport Premium in England. Responsibility for the curriculums of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales lie with each devolved administration. The government’s sports strategy, ‘Sporting Future’, published in December 2015, included a commitment to establish a working group “to advise on how to ensure no child leaves school unable to meet a minimum standard of capability and confidence in swimming”. In response, the Swim Group has published an independent report, which reviewed current practice and provision and set out a number of recommendations.The government has formed an implementation group to review the recommendations. The group will work to increase the opportunities for all children to swim and achieve the national curriculum requirements. The government has doubled the primary PE and Sport Premium to £320 million a year from September 2017. Updated guidance was published in October 2017 stating that the premium can be used to “provide additional swimming provision targeted to pupils not able to meet the swimming requirements of the national curriculum”. The guidance also indicates the premium can be used to provide staff with professional development, mentoring, training and resources to help them teach PE and sport more effectively.For the 2017 to 2018 academic year, schools must publish how many pupils within their year 6 cohort are meeting the national curriculum requirement to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. This is a new condition placed upon use of the premium.

Children: Day Care

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on delivering 30 hours of free childcare.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Early delivery of 30 hours free childcare was successful with over 15,000 places delivered to eligible parents across the 12 areas. The independent evaluation of our early delivery areas showed that 78% of parents reported greater flexibility in their working life as a result of 30 hours, and nearly a quarter of mothers and one in 10 fathers reported they had been able to increase their working hours. These independent evaluation reports are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-rollout-of-30-hours-free-childcare-evaluation and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-early-implementation-evaluation. On 1 September, 30 hours free childcare was rolled out nationally. As of 31 August, 216,384 eligibility codes had been issued for the autumn term and, as of 6 November, 93% of these eligibility codes had been validated via the Eligibility Checking System (ECS). This information is referred to in the following management information release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated. On 19 December we will publish an experimental statistics release ’30 hours free childcare: Autumn term 2017’ which will include a local council breakdown of codes issued and validated.

Children: Day Care

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on rolling out 30 hours of free childcare in Hertsmere.

Mr Robert Goodwill: On 1 September, 30 hours free childcare was rolled out nationally. As of 31 August, 216,384 eligibility codes had been issued for the autumn term and, as of 6 November, 93% of these eligibility codes had been validated via the Eligibility Checking System. This information is referred to in the following management information release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated. On 19 December, the department will publish a statistical release ’30 hours free childcare: Autumn term 2017’ which will include a council breakdown of codes issued and validated.

Pupils: Health

Angela Smith: To To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 110875, when her Department last reviewed the statutory guidance entitled Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school; and whether any changes have been made to that guidance to address a lack of awareness and compliance in schools.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Question 110875, when her Department plans to review the statutory guidance entitled Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school; and if her Department will amend that guidance to include a requirement for governing bodies to ensure that all schools publish their policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions on the school’s website so that it is readily accessible to parents and school staff.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November to Question 110875, how her Department (a) monitors that governing boards are ensuring that the school’s policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff and (b) responds to governing boards and schools when there is evidence of non-compliance to their statutory obligations.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department worked with a range of stakeholders including the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, unions, members of the school workforce and parents and their children on developing the statutory guidance, a draft of which was subject to public consultation in early 2014. Updates to the guidance were made in December 2015, which included clarifying the distinction between statutory and non-statutory guidance and adding references to the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice. Governing boards should ensure that all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions, which is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. We keep the guidance under review, including in the context of school awareness, and the role it plays in securing accessibility of school policies. Ofsted’s Common Inspection Framework requires inspectors, in making judgements upon schools, to pay particular attention to the outcomes of a range of groups of pupils, including those with medical needs. Ofsted included guidance to inspectors on this matter in their March 2017 school inspection update, reminding inspectors that they should consider how schools are meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions.

Erasmus+ Programme

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been participants in the Erasmus  Plus programme since its introduction in each (a) region of the UK and (b) sector.

Joseph Johnson: The Erasmus+ programme was introduced in 2014. Data on the number of participants broken down by sector and across the UK is available at https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics-0.

Employment: Older People

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will introduce a mid-life career review for people over 50 years old to help them update their skills and re-train where appropriate.

Anne Milton: There are currently no plans to introduce a formal mid-life career review. However, the National Careers Service helps individuals make informed choices about their career options by providing free and impartial advice on careers, skills and the Labour Market in England. All adults aged 19 years and over (or 18 and over if the individual is in custody or out of work and on benefits) are eligibgle for local advice over the phone or face-to-face, tailored to their individual circumstances. The National Careers Service is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and local enterprise partnerships to pilot careers advice for employed older people via their employer, to engage them with training and retain them within the labour market. We are in the process of re-procuring the local, area-based National Careers Service contracts. As part of these contracts, we have specified that those who are over 50 and unemployed or at risk of redundancy should be a priority group for face-to-face advice in the service.

Pupils: Health

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2017 to Question 110581, on pupils: health, what steps her Department takes to ensure that schools in England are compliant with the statutory guidance entitled Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ofsted’s Common Inspection Framework requires inspectors, in making judgements upon schools, to pay particular attention to the outcomes of a range of groups of pupils, including those with medical needs. Ofsted included guidance to inspectors on this matter in their March 2017 school inspection update, reminding inspectors that they should consider how schools are meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions.

Department for Education: Public Expenditure

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many losses and special payments have been made by his Department in the 2017-18 financial year to date; and what the value of those losses and payments have been.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Data for 2017/18 is not yet available. It is standard for the department to collate and validate data on losses and special payment at two intervals during each financial year (up to the end of Period 9 in December in preparation for the annual accounts and again at Period 12 in March as part of year-end). We are unable to confirm 2017/18 figures until the data has been verified, validated, finalised and signed off by the relevant business area, for inclusion in the department’s 2017/18 annual accounts. Data for this financial year to the end of December 2017 should be available from the beginning of February. We welcome any subsequent request to share data on losses and special payment up to the end of December 2017 as per the estimated timing above. For general information, any losses and special payments in excess of £300,000 will be included in the department’s Consolidated Annual Report and Accounts for 2017/18. This will be available on the department’s GOV.UK website, in due course at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports.

Pupil Exclusions

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she takes to ensure enforcement of laws that prohibit exclusion of pupils on the grounds of academic ability.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes to (a) identify and (b) reprimand schools and other educational institutions that fail to meet the requirements of section 52 of the Education Act 2002.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department’s legislation and statutory guidance on exclusion makes it clear that any decision to exclude a pupil from school should be lawful, reasonable and fair. Schools must have regard to the exclusion guidance and follow the formal exclusion process set out in it. Schools can exclude pupils, either permanently or for a fixed period, for disciplinary reasons, and the department supports schools in using exclusion where this is warranted. Exclusion on any grounds other than discipline is unlawful. Where a pupil is asked to leave the school, the formal exclusions process set out in the statutory exclusion guidance must be followed. Schools may not exclude pupils because of their academic attainment or ability. In September the department wrote to all secondary schools and local authorities to remind them of these rules. The government recently announced an externally led review of the use of exclusions and implications for pupil groups disproportionately represented in the national statistics. Further details on the review will be made available in due course.

Pupil Exclusions

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers Ofsted has to identify instances where pupils have been unfairly or illegally excluded from schools or other educational institutions.

Mr Robert Goodwill: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the House library.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help schools find the first £6,000 needed to secure SEND funding.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received  from educational organisations in Kent on the effectiveness of SEND funding since 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools attract funding to their schools through the formula set by the school’s local authority. The funding formula is decided by each local authority in consultation with its schools, and local authorities are required to delegate funds through the formula to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEND up to £6,000 per annum. This constitutes each school’s notional SEND budget. Local authorities use various factors to give an estimate of the number of children with SEND a school is likely to have, and consequently the notional SEND budget that the school will receive. The introduction of a national funding formula for determining schools and local authorities’ funding from April 2018 will not change this arrangement. The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2017 state that local authorities must identify each school’s notional SEND budget from which schools are expected to meet the additional costs of their pupils with SEND, up to £6,000 per annum. Schools should therefore discuss with their local authority how much is needed for this purpose.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has for nursery budgets beyond the 2019-20 financial year?

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding guidance his Department provides to nurseries which wish to plan their budgets beyond the 2019-20 financial year.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The current spending review runs until 2019-20 and budgets are not set beyond this point. We publish operational guidance for local councils, on funding the early years’ entitlements, on an annual basis. The guidance for 2018-19 can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has committed to early years nursery education in (a) England, (b) North West of England, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) Denton and Reddish constituency in financial year (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Funding for the free early years’ entitlements is allocated on a local council basis. Provisional allocations for 2017-18 can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2017-to-2018. Funding allocations for 2018-19 and 2019-20 will be announced in due course.

Veterinary Services: Apprentices

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have undertaken an apprenticeship in the veterinary sector since 2010.

Anne Milton: The table below contains apprenticeship starts for the frameworks ‘Nursing Assistants in a Veterinary Environment’ and ‘Veterinary Nursing’ from 2011/12 to 2016/17.  2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Nursing Assistants in a-606070110140Veterinary Environment  Veterinary Nursing560510420560710670 Notes 1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. ‘-‘ indicates figures which are less than five.2) Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately two per cent.

Veterinary Services: Training

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the skills training available in the veterinary sector.

Anne Milton: There have been no specific discussions on this area.

Nursery Schools: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will extend the provision of supplementary funding to local authorities for their maintained nursery schools beyond 2019-20.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Maintained nursery schools play an important role in supporting some of our most disadvantaged children. The provision of supplementary funding to at least 2019-20 will provide maintained nursery schools with stability whilst we develop a long-term solution.Department officials continue to work closely with the sector and others, including the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nursery Schools and Nursery Classes on this issue.

Veterinary Services: Apprentices

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Apprenticeship Levy on the veterinary sector.

Anne Milton: The Apprenticeship Levy is designed to encourage sustained employer investment in high quality apprenticeships across a wide rage of sectors. This includes the veterinary sector which has benefited from such investment and has helped develop the apprenticeship standard for a Registered Veterinary Nurse. Futher details of this apprentinceship can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-standard-registered-veterinary-nurse.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what target her Department has set for the number of 30-free hours of childcare eligibility codes to be generated for the January term.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are expecting to issue a total of 310,000 30 hours eligibility codes by 31 December 2017 for the spring term. We anticipate we may exceed this target given the popularity of 30 hours free childcare we observed in the autumn term. Further information relating to 30 hours codes issued for the spring term will be issued in a future management information release. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2017 to Question 110302, on children: day care, whether her Department has appointed a contractor to evaluate the provision of 30 hours' free childcare during the first two terms of the national roll-out.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are in the process of commissioning an independent evaluation study in a number of local councils across England to assess the implementation and impact of the 30 hours’ free childcare policy in the first year of national rollout. We have not yet appointed a contractor to undertake this work.

Pre-school Education: Disability

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Disability Access Fund payments have been made since April 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Local councils make Disability Access Fund payments and are required to pay £615 to early years settings for each child that is:taking-up the three- and four-year old free entitlement (not in reception); andreceiving Disability Living Allowance.The early years and schools censuses in January 2018 will provide us with data about the take-up of the Disability Access Fund.

Home Education: Special Educational Needs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children with an SEN statement or equivalent being home-schooled in England in each of the last five years

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but data on the number of children educated at home are not collected centrally.

Mathematics: GCE A-level

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.24 of the Autumn Budget 2017, what year will act as the baseline for determining the number of extra pupils taking Maths or Further Maths A levels or Core Maths; and whether that baseline will be revised in future years.

Nick Gibb: Further information about the post-16 maths premium announced in the Budget will be released in due course. This information will set out which year will act as the baseline for determining the number of extra pupils taking Mathematics or Further Mathematics AS/A levels or Core Mathematics, and whether the baseline will be revised in future years.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Council of Europe on the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that a blanket ban against prisoner voting contravenes Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Government is clear that convicted prisoners in custody should not vote. At the same time, we are addressing an anomaly which allows those offenders on Home Detention Curfew to vote but not offenders who are released on temporary licence We believe these administrative proposed measures address the points raised in the 2005 Hirst judgment on prisoner voting rights by the European Court of Human Rights. The measures will be considered by Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers at their meeting in Strasbourg in December.

Forensic Science

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2017, HCWS265, on toxicology, if he will provide legal aid to all people affected by alleged malpractice by (a) Trimega and (b) Randox Testing Services.

Dominic Raab: The Government recognises that individuals may be concerned about alleged malpractice in toxicology testing and how this may impact on any proceedings that they have been involved in. Individuals will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis within the existing legislative provisions as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Forensic Science

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2017, HCWS265, on toxicology, what assessment he has made of the capacity of HM Courts and Tribunal Service to expedite cases in which test results have been manipulated.

Dominic Raab: Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the judiciary are aware of the seriousness of this issue, and arrangements are in place to monitor any increased demand on the courts. This will include monitoring the number of applications for leave to appeal in criminal cases and any substantive appeals in the Court of Appeal. The number of bespoke family court forms submitted to ask the court to consider varying or setting aside their final family court order will be monitored too. This will ensure the process is kept under review to meet the requirements of family court users.

Berwyn Prison

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many self-harm incidents by prisoners at HM Prison Berwyn have been recorded since that prison opened in Spring 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Data on self-harm in prison custody is published quarterly in the Safety in Custody statistics. The most recent statistics were published on 26 October 2017 and cover self-harm in prison custody to June 2017. Data at individual prison level is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654511/self-harm-data-tool.xlsx.

Drugs: Misuse

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for possession of (i) black mamba and (ii) spice under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Dominic Raab: It is not possible to identify from centrally held data the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted for possession of or selling black mamba and spice without incurring disproportionate cost.

Employment Tribunals Service: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) employment tribunal judges and (b) staff there were in (i) West Midlands and (ii) Coventry in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Dominic Raab: There are a total of 13 Employment Tribunal Judges in West Midlands working an average of 12.11 full time equivalent in the last 12 months There are a total of 33.39 Employment Tribunal Staff in West Midlands working an average of 34.8 full time equivalent in the last 12 months.There are no Employment Tribunal hearings in Coventry and recruitment is currently ongoing.

Domestic Violence: Legal Aid Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the organisations and individuals who were consulted on the proposed changes to evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse to access legal aid.

Dominic Raab: The government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic violence must have access to the help they need, including access to legal aid.Earlier this year we conducted a review of the evidence requirements for victims of violence to access legal aid. As part of our review process we worked closely with Rights of Women, Resolution and the Law Society, as well as victims. We will make an announcement about the outcome of our most recent internal review shortly.

Crime: Victims

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the Government to bring forward legislative proposals on its planned victim's law.

Dr Phillip Lee: We have committed to publish a victims’ strategy by early 2018, which will consider legislative and non-legislative options to give effect to the strategy. We will bring forward any legislation for victims when Parliamentary time allows.

Domestic Violence: Legal Aid Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of victims of domestic violence who have been unable to access legal aid as a result of changes introduced by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Dominic Raab: It is vital that victims of domestic violence have access to the help and support they need. Legal aid remains available to those seeking protection from an abuser in domestic violence cases, and was granted in over 12,000 cases last year.Our evidence requirements have been kept under review in order to ensure that support is provided to victims of domestic violence. We will make an announcement about the outcome of our most recent internal review shortly.

Courts: Compensation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of court compensation orders were paid to the victim within one month; and what the average length of time is between the imposition of an order and payment.

Dominic Raab: The information requested is not held centrally. However, according to our Trust Statement, the amount of compensation imposed and collected has risen steadily over recent years. In 2013-14 £30,720,000 was imposed and £28,414,000 collected, increasing to £46,021,000 imposed and £41,420,000 collected in 2016-17.

Domestic Violence: Legal Representation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the number of victims of domestic violence who have acted as litigants in person in each of the last three years.

Dominic Raab: Figures on the numbers of victims of domestic violence who have acted as litigants in person are not currently held by the government.Since 2015, we have invested £5million of funding to support the Litigants in Person Support Strategy to increase support to unrepresented parties in the family justice system. This provides practical support and information as well as providing routes to free or more affordable legal advice services. The Lord Chancellor recently announced the initiation of the post-implementation review of the legal aid changes made by, and following, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the housing maintenance contract with Carillion- Amey is fit for purpose.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: CarillionAmey now meet, for the most part, their key contractual targets. Stakeholders have recognised this improved performance. Ministry of Defence officials carry out comprehensive assurance checks, and results are reported back to governing bodies and are subject to external review.

Hurricanes and Tornadoes: Disaster Relief

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the capacity to deliver hurricane relief, similar to the response to hurricane Irma, if UK amphibious capability declines.

Mark Lancaster: The Armed Forces possess a range of assets, personnel and equipment that are able to provide humanitarian assistance in response to disasters worldwide. As part of the Atlantic Patrol Task (North), The Ministry of Defence has a Royal Navy ship pre-positioned close to the Caribbean during hurricane season. For Hurricanes Irma and Maria, this task was performed by RFA Mounts Bay, which provided the UK's initial response to the disaster. A cross-Government lessons learned process looking into the UK's immediate response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria is ongoing. The UK is proud of its role in hurricane and disaster relief, and stands ready to respond to future crises.

Armed Forces: Medical Records

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November to Question 111513, if he will make it his policy to allow personal information to be passed from a Senior medical Officer and a Regimental Medical Officer to civilian medical officers; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The sharing of personal data by military and civilian clinicians is subject to the following regulations and standards:• Access to Medical Reports Act 1988• Human Rights Act 1998• Access to Health Records Act 1990• Computer Misuse Act 1990• Data Protection Act 1998• Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Act 2015• Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice• Common Law Duty of Confidentiality• The Caldicott Principles• General Medical Council - Confidentiality: Good Practice in Handling Patient Information (2017).

European Investment Bank

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any future UK liabilities towards the European Investment Bank arise from EU Permanent Structured Cooperation;  and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to provide operational headquarters for EU permanent structured cooperation; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the future of the European Air Group and EU Permanent Structured Cooperation after the UK has left the EU.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect EU Permanent Structured Cooperation the Lancaster House agreement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The aim of the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is to strengthen EU Member States' cooperation in military matters. Under PESCO, groups of participating Member States can work together to pursue specific capability projects. PESCO is voluntary and works on an opt-in basis. It is not a Common Security and Defence Policy operation or mission and there is no operational headquarters.At the 13 November Foreign Affairs Council with Defence Ministers, 23 Member States signed a notification letter as the first step in the establishment of PESCO. It is expected that PESCO will be launched at the Foreign Affairs Council in December but there are several details yet to be decided including funding arrangements, and prioritisation and governance arrangements for PESCO projects.The UK did not sign the notification letter but the Government supports the ambition to develop military capabilities that address the shortfalls in EU and NATO contexts. We welcome PESCO as a tool to support the development of capabilities that Europe needs for its security, provided it remains complementary to NATO and encourages EU-NATO cooperation.Our bilateral Defence cooperation with Member States, including France through the Lancaster House Treaties, is in the interest of the whole of Europe, and PESCO will not change that. We believe that PESCO must be designed in a way that promotes an open and competitive European Defence industry. We are encouraging Member States to develop PESCO to be open to third country participation where there is clear value in doing so. Projects carried out under PESCO arrangements should remain Member State-owned and the capabilities delivered should be available not only to the EU but can also be used in support of NATO and UN operations. PESCO does not affect independent organisations such as the European Air Group.We continue to engage in the development of PESCO and our approach reflects our commitment to European defence and security, and protecting the interests of UK industry.

EU Defence Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel are currently posted in EU defence and security roles.

Mark Lancaster: As at 28 November 2017, there are 16 UK personnel posted in EU defence and security roles.

EU Defence Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the role of the UK will be in the EU Battlegroup system after the UK has left the EU and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The UK's provisional offer to be on the EU Battlegroup roster as a Framework Nation in the second half of 2019 has not been confirmed.The exact nature of the UK's relationship with the EU and commitments post 2019 are to be determined as part of the negotiations as we leave. Until then we will continue to take a full and active part in EU discussions.We remain committed to European peace security.

Armed Forces: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Service Family Accommodation properties allocated under a civilian licence or as part of a sub-letting programme made included trial lets made to civilians.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There are currently 106 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties allocated under a civilian licence and 213 SFA being let as part of the Sub-Letting Programme. There were no trial lets made to civilians as part of these programmes.

Armed Forces: Compensation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how compensation payments made to armed forces personnel illegally dismissed following the receipt of a police caution are calculated on a year-by-year basis for people whose personal circumstances change from year to year; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many claims for compensation for illegal dismissal of service personnel who received a police caution have included payments for (a) emotional distress and (b) mental heath impacts; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria are used to identify the financial retention initiative (FRI) date from which compensation is payable to those illegally dismissed from the armed forces for a received police caution; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how he assesses whether people seeking compensation after illegal dismissal from the armed forces for having had a receivable police caution were, at the time of their decision, (a) willing to remain in the forces and (b) accept redundancy; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Since 2015, the Services have been dealing with Service complaints from serving and former personnel who were subject to administrative action following receipt of a police caution. It will take time to gather the very detailed information requested by the hon. Member, and I will write to her when this is available.

Army: Recruitment

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for how many days the Army recruiting website been inoperable in each of the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The British Army's recruiting website has been inoperable due to planned, scheduled changes to the website for a total of three days in the past six months.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who identify as disabled are employed by his Department, broken down by pay grade.

Caroline Dinenage: The numbers and proportions of employees in DWP who have identified themselves as being disabled are as follows: DWP Disability by Grade March 2017 AllAAAOEOHEOSEOG7G6SCSPercentages8.7%12.4%8.9%9.1%6.8%5.9%5.9%4.2%6.1%Numbers5,921542,3272,90839712879208

Social Security Benefits

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of (a) assessments (b) subsequent decisions and (c) mandatory reconsideration for (i) Personal Independence Payment and (ii) Employment and Support Allowance.

Sarah Newton: The Department is continually working to improve the claimant journeys for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance, including working with our assessment providers to further improve the quality of assessments by clinical coaching, feedback and the support available to each assessor. There are strands of work in progress to drive continuous improvement in the decision making and appeals processes. These include the recruitment of approximately 150 Presenting Officers across both benefits, who are providing valuable insight into why decisions are overturned at appeal. This in turn will help to identify improvements that can be made at all stages of the claimant journey – including the assessment, initial decision and mandatory reconsideration stages. Furthermore, the Department is running a series of tests which explore the different ways we can improve evidence gathering and the quality of our decision making.

Social Security Benefits

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will consult disability organisations on the future contract specifications for contracted assessors of Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance claims.

Sarah Newton: The Department will engage with stakeholders on the future contracts for the delivery of these assessments in due course.

Employment and Support Allowance

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of new Employment and Support Allowance claimants who have moved into work as a result of the removal of the Work-Related Activity Group Addition of £29.05 per week in April 2017.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The latest information to May 2017 on the number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants by phase of claim is published and available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/Guidance for users is available at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Universal Credit: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants identify as disabled.

Damian Hinds: I refer the hon.Member to a previous response to PQ 113070 that was answered on 14 November 2017.

Jobcentres

Gerard Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial assistance is available to unemployed claimantsofuniversal credit and jobseekers allowance who are unable to use public transport and are required to attend job centre appointments.

Damian Hinds: Whilst it is Government Policy to encourage people to use public transport, it is recognised that there will be circumstances where this is not possible, for example when a person is infirm or disabled, public transport is not available, or the customer is accompanied by a helper or support worker. This can be discussed with the Work Coach. Work Coaches already have flexibility to support claimants who are required to attend regular Jobcentre Plus appointments. Alternative arrangements can be made for claimants who live more than one hour away from their nearest Jobcentre Plus office using public transport and for journeys which result in an absence from home of four hours or more. In these circumstances claimants can engage with us through digital or telephony channels or exceptionally by post for Jobseekers Allowance claimants.

Universal Credit: Terminal Illnesses

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussion he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) others on reinstating implicit consent for terminally ill claimants of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussion he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) other stakeholders on the proof of illness required from universal credit claimants; and if he will make a statement.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) other stakeholders on the steps terminally ill claimants take to claim universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pension, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) other stakeholders on benefits appropriate to universal credit claimants who are unable to return to work owing to ill health or terminal diagnosis; and if he will make a statement.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues and others had about the appropriateness of at-home visits to terminally ill universal credit claimants; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: We are committed to ensuring that terminally ill patients are treated with the utmost sensitivity and care and receive the support they need to make a claim to Universal Credit. This can include a home visit to support a claimant with making their initial claim and completing any other administrative tasks required to ensure that they receive the correct payment. As we continue to deliver the full Universal Credit service, with its expanded claimant base, we are continuing to review and further develop the customer journey for claimants with complex needs, including how we support terminally ill claimants to engage in the process. We are aware of concerns raised about the process of notifying DWP about a claimant’s terminal illness. However, we do not need to change the consent rules in Universal Credit to support these claimants. We can already accept information directly from claimant representatives, such as claimant appointees and third party organisations representing the claimant as well as details supplied to DWP Universal Credit partnership managers or external engagement officials. However, we are also aware that there are instances where this is not happening as intended in some limited circumstances and we are working to confirm that the guidance and processes are in place to ensure that it does. The Department and the Universal Credit Programme have regular meetings with key stakeholders, including MacMillan, Maggie’s Centres and Mind, to understand how our policies are working and discuss potential areas for improvement. The design of Universal Credit for terminally ill claimants is based on the well tested processes that have been in place in Employment and Support Allowance as have the proof of illness requirements. We continue to keep these under review to ensure that they work as effectively as possible.

Social Security Benefits: Autism

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what specialist support is being provided to welfare claimants with (a) Asperger’s Syndrome and (b) other conditions on the spectrum, to assist them in the application process; and what plans he has to introduce an application format that takes into account an individual's specific needs.

Sarah Newton: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has an established approach to identifying and providing an appropriate level of support to all its customers who are vulnerable. DWP identifies any “individual who is identified as having complex needs and/or requires additional support to enable them to access DWP benefits and use our services” as being vulnerable. This definition ensures that we have consistency and continuity in the type and level of service that is being offered and that it supports the customer appropriately whatever their individual needs. DWP adopts this approach, at all points of contact with the customer, and uses its records to ensure, where an individual is identified as being vulnerable, we take all reasonable steps to try to mitigate any risks. DWP will continue to follow our established approach working with the individual and with their consent we will, where necessary, contact any relevant organisations to provide the appropriate levels of support. DWP continually monitors our products and services to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers and, where necessary, make any changes that improve the level of service we provide.

Pensions: Divorced People

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the equity of the arrangements for sharing pensions between divorced couples where the divorce took place more than 10 years ago.

Guy Opperman: Financial settlements following divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership, including which assets are included and how they are divided, is a matter for the family and matrimonial law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The pension legislation which provides the mechanism for implementing a pension sharing order granted by the courts remains largely unchanged since the introduction of pension sharing in December 2000.

Children: Maintenance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a backlog to implement a change of circumstance request made by a parent with care in respect of a non-resident parent for the Child Maintenance Service.

Caroline Dinenage: Child Maintenance Service (CMS) does not regularly collate information relating specifically to changes raised by a Receiving Parent (formerly PWC) in respect of a Paying Parent (formerly NRP). The CMS is able to provide information on all change of circumstance requests (those requested by paying or receiving parents) and this is held in the table below.The average clearance time has increased over time as CMS caseload has increased. The data reported excludes those cases belonging to the CSA Scheme, as these cases are characteristically quite different and do not reflect the performance of the CMSScheme. The data available begins in November 2015. MonthAverage Clearance Time (Calendar Days)Nov-156.78Dec-156.90Jan-167.75Feb-167.19Mar-167.89Apr-168.69May-168.78Jun-169.91Jul-169.71Aug-1611.32Sep-1611.76Oct-1610.89Nov-1611.45Dec-1611.90Jan-1712.54Feb-1713.08Mar-1713.40Apr-1715.24May-1716.71Jun-1716.00Jul-1716.78Aug-1716.44Sep-1716.69  CMS change requests require varying times to complete depending upon the nature and complexity of the request. There will always be an element of work on hand awaiting action.

Employment: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2017 to Question 3585, on disability: employment, what steps his Department is taking to achieve its target of 1 million more disabled people in work over the next 10 years.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2017 to Question 3585, on disability: employment, how his Department plans to report its progress on getting 1 million more disabled people into work over the next 10 years.

Sarah Newton: We remain committed to improving employment outcomes for disabled people. The manifesto commitment to get one million more disabled people in work over the next ten years gives us a clear, ambitious, and time-bound goal.The employment rate of disabled people is 49% – up 4.7 percentage points since 2014. There are 3.5 million disabled people in work – an increase of over 530,000 since 2014. We know that there is much more that needs to be done, so that everyone who can work is given the right support and opportunities to do so. Today (November 30th 2017) the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions have published our response to the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper consultation in Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability. This sets out our vision for a 10 year programme of reform, the actions we have taken since the Green Paper and our immediate next steps.We will track the number of disabled people in employment and publish a statistical update annually. We will also consider other useful statistical indicators, which give more information about how disability and employment change over this time period, and inform our actions.

Universal Credit: Self-employed

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2017 to Question 114593, on universal credit: self-employed, whether he plans to make that information available in the future.

Damian Hinds: The Universal Credit official statistics consultation ran from 13 September 2017 to 24 October 2017. We are currently reviewing the responses to the consultation and a link to the results of the consultation will be published on the Universal Credit Statistics page which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

Housing Benefit

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on Housing Benefit claims in each year since 2011.

Caroline Dinenage: The information is already published and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/646032/hb-and-ctb-by-la-2016-17.ods

Fracking: Ryedale

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the KM8 pipeline to transport shale gas safely from the KM8 well, if he will publish the evidence on which that assessment has been made; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has inspected the pipeline and is content that the gas from the KM8 well can be safely conveyed within the pipeline, under the current risk management systems employed by Third Energy. If there is any breach of the health and safety regulations resulting in formal enforcement action, HSE will make this public.

Social Security Benefits: Databases

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 6.18 of the Autumn Budget 2017, how much the Government plans to invest in better use of data to ensure that fraudulent and error-related payments are reduced; and over what period that investment will be made.

Caroline Dinenage: The Autumn Budget 2017 announcement enables DWP to continue to make more effective use of HMRC’s Real Time Information data in respect of Housing Benefit and Carer’s Allowance. We plan to invest an additional £90m over a 5 year period beginning 2018/19 which will help identify earnings related fraud and error.

Social Security Benefits: Databases

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 6.18 of the budget 2017, what the sources are of the data which the Government will invest in the better use of in order to ensure that fraudulent and error related payments are reduced.

Caroline Dinenage: HMRC’s Real Time Information system collects PAYE information for wages and tax approved pension schemes. The Autumn Budget 2017 provides funding so that Local Authorities (LAs) can continue to take part in the Tackling Earnings and Employment Fraud & Error Scheme which has been running since 2015/16. The scheme supports LAs who use Real Time Information to identify fraud and error. Funding will increasingly allow LAs to action automated Real Time Information earnings alerts in real time. Automated Real Time Information alerts will in addition be rolled out to Carer’s Allowance in 2018.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Reindeer: Imports

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many reindeer in how many consignments from which countries were imported into the UK in 2016; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The number of reindeer and the number of consignments imported into the UK in 2016 is as follows: Country fromConsignmentsAnimalsFinland381Netherlands117Sweden*117Switzerland14  The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is not able to provide any data regarding the number of imports from countries outside the EEA, as data is not available. * Exports of deer species, including reindeer and moose were banned from Norway and Sweden in October 2016 by the EU Commission as a special measure to protect deer species elsewhere in the EU. The consignment of reindeer from Sweden in the table above were imported into the UK in February 2016.

Reindeer: Animal Welfare

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the welfare of reindeer imported into the UK for use in Christmas displays and events; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Reindeer are protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. Under the Acts it is an offence for keepers to cause unnecessary suffering to animals including reindeer, or to fail to ensure the needs of their animals are met to the extent required by good practice. Defra has a welfare Code for farmed deer which offers guidance on their health and welfare, some of which would also be applicable to reindeer. Certain diseases affecting reindeer are notifiable. These diseases include foot and mouth disease, bluetongue and chronic wasting disease. We are aware of suspected cases of chronic wasting disease which have been disclosed in wild reindeer in Norway. Exports of deer species, including reindeer and moose, have subsequently been banned from Norway and Sweden by the EU Commission as a special measure to protect deer species elsewhere in the EU.

Incinerators

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of municipal solid waste used in incineration plants is (a) biodegradable and (b) recyclable.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Fifty-five percent of municipal solid waste used in incineration plants in England in 2016 is estimated to be biodegradable. It is not possible to estimate the proportion of municipal solid waste used in incineration plants that is recyclable because large tonnages of incinerated waste are reported as “mixed” waste categories, for which we do not currently have estimates of recyclable content. Additionally, there are no established definitions for waste that would be deemed to be “recyclable” based on the European Waste Catalogue waste code classifications that underpin waste reporting.

Sea Bass: EU Action

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he plans make at the EU Fisheries Council on EU proposals to implement a ban on sea anglers catching bass.

George Eustice: The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s (ICES) latest advice for bass points to a continued decline in biomass of the stock and recommends a zero catch in 2018. The European Commission has proposed further significant reductions in catches both from the commercial and recreational sectors for next year.We are evaluating the scientific advice and Commission proposal very carefully. Our aim for the Fisheries Council meeting on 11-12 December will be to secure an EU package that ensures where further reductions in catches for both commercial and recreational fisheries are to be agreed, they should be proportionate to their relative impact. In this context, I am giving very careful consideration to the concerns raised by the commercial and recreational bass sectors, which will help inform my discussions at the Fisheries Council.

Fisheries

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his Department's position at the December Fisheries Council that all fishing limits in 2018 should be set in line with scientific advice provided by ICES.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his Department’s position at the December Fisheries Council to set fishing limits for certain fish stocks above the scientific level advised by ICES; and whether his department will publish a list of those stocks and a justification for each stock level.

George Eustice: The Government supports setting fishing opportunities for 2018 in line with the maximum sustainable yield and based on the advice from ICES, wherever possible. However, we recognise the need for certain exceptions, such as the need for flexibility in mixed fisheries. The setting of limits for individual fish stocks is determined by agreements at the December Agriculture and Fisheries Council. A list of stocks of relevance to the UK, and their agreed respective fishing limits, will be published in January.

Pet Travel Scheme: Dogs

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with relevant authorities in (a) Lithuania, (b) Hungary, (c) Poland and (d) Romania on abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme and illegal importation of puppies into Great Britain.

George Eustice: The UK Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) discussed welfare of domestic animals in trade at the recent EU Chief Veterinary Officer’s Working Group meeting attended by all Member States on 25 October 2017. The UK CVO supported a proposal to review the existing compliance and enforcement measures of Pet Travel Scheme rules. He advised that there are many issues that drive misuse of scheme rules and enforcement is hindered by the difficulty of verifying the age of puppies at 15 weeks, opening the door to fraud. A further discussion is planned for the EU Chief Veterinary Officer’s Working Group meeting in December 2017. The UK Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer will present findings of our targeted monitoring at ports and invite an exchange of experiences from other Member States. Additionally, the UK CVO and Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer have had informal discussions with a number of the EU Member States on abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme. In 2016, the CVO wrote to authorities in Hungary and Poland advising that puppies from those countries, not compliant with the EU travel legislation, had been discovered in the UK. He requested an update on investigations taken in the light of the information provided.

Veterinary Medicine: Training

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of veterinary surgeons being trained in the UK in each of the last three years.

George Eustice: For 2014-2015 there were 5016 veterinary students attending a veterinary degree course at the 7 approved UK veterinary schools, in 2015-16 there were 5053 and for 2016-2017 there were 5185. (Source Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons)

Veterinary Medicine: Training

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of veterinary nurses being trained in the UK in each of the last three years.

George Eustice: The Department does not have figures concerning the number of veterinary nursing students in each of those years but in 2014/15 there were 1039 UK graduates entering the veterinary nursing profession and registering with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (Veterinary Nurses) Register, and similarly in 2015/16 there 1036 entering the UK register (Source RCVS)

Cetaceans: Conservation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce any new measures to (a) prevent the unintentional capture of dolphins, whales and porpoises in fishing nets and (b) require post-mortem examinations when dolphins, whales or porpoises die in fishing nets.

George Eustice: The Government is working with stakeholders to develop a UK Cetacean Bycatch Strategy to address the issue of unintentional capture of dolphins, whales and porpoises. The strategy will focus on implementing practical solutions in areas where there are high levels of bycatch. The Government funds a widely respected UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme. This scheme carries out post-mortem examinations to investigate the causes of death of stranded cetaceans around the UK coast, improving our understanding of, and ability to tackle, key threats like bycatch.

Landfill

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of waste collections goes to landfill in (a) Mid Sussex constituency, (b) West Sussex and (c) England.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Information on the collection and management of all local authority waste for England, including figures for individual local authorities is published on an annual basis. Latest published figures are for 2015/16. For England 19.6 per cent of all local authority waste was disposed to landfill and West Sussex County Council sent 36.6 per cent of all its waste to landfill in 2015/16. Data are reported at a local authority level rather than on the basis of parliamentary constituencies, so it is not possible to provide information for the mid Sussex constituency.

Acute Oak Decline

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research his Department is undertaking into acute oak decline.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra has invested over £2 million in research into acute oak decline over the last five years. Significant progress has been made in discovering the bacterial cause of the weeping stem lesions. Ongoing research aims to understand the exact role of the native bark boring beetle (Agrilus biguttatus) and whether other stress factors, such as climate and soil conditions, may make trees more vulnerable.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in how many zones badger culling has taken place for longer than six weeks, and what the completion date was of the cull in each zone in each of the last five years.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish an analysis of badger culls conducted during 2017.

George Eustice: The duration of the cull period is intended to achieve a balance between sufficient intensity to achieve disease control and what is operationally deliverable by a cull company. The length of each cull operation between 2013 and 2016 has already been published as part of the annual badger control monitoring summaries (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bovine-tb-controlling-the-risk-of-bovine-tb-from-badgers). The assessment of 2017 operations will be published on gov.uk in due course.

Fisheries

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce (a) a legal requirement to fish at a level that enables fish stocks to recover and (b) to document all fish caught, after the UK has left the European Union.

George Eustice: The Government has always made clear that it is committed to science-based fisheries management and managing stocks at sustainable levels; and we will continue to do so after we leave the European Union. We will continue to require accurate data recording by fishers and the gathering of robust scientific evidence. A number of trials have been undertaken to test Remote Electronic Monitoring which provides an effective and efficient way of gathering data on what is caught at sea. We have developed significant expertise through this work and are considering how best to apply this learning as we develop options for future fisheries management approaches.

Rivers

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to restore river flows in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire chalk streams; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) is working with partners across Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire to reduce abstraction and carry out a programme of river restoration projects on chalk streams. The EA is working with Affinity Water to cease or reduce abstraction from 11 pumping stations on 7 chalk streams in order to improve flows. Through this partnership 70 million litres of water per day will be kept in the environment, enhancing 212 kilometres of chalk streams by 2025. The EA, Affinity Water and partners have secured £5 million of funding for around 100 river restoration projects across 7 rivers in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. This will include the removal of physical modifications, such as weirs, to improve fish movement and biodiversity.

Home Office

Home Office: Research

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will list the (a) reviews and (b) reports commissioned by her Department which have yet to be published.

Victoria Atkins: Officials routinely carry out reviews of policy and legislation in order to provide advice to Ministers and support the formulation of Government policy. The following reviews and reports have been commissioned by the Home Office. Asylum Intake and Casework The Review and Removal of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship StatusUse of Country Information Review on Counter Terrorism StrategyOperational Improvement Review – Assured by David Anderson The independent Sharia Review Evidence around security industry regulation; - awaiting publication alongside the Security Industry Authority Review The scale and nature of attrition in frauds and cyber crimes reported to Action Fraud Understanding the costs of cyber-crime: a report of key findings from the costs of cyber-crime working group Animals in Science Committee Review of harm–benefit analysis in the use of animals in research A review of the Security Industry Authority

Radicalism

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June to Question 778, when her Department plans to publish details of the membership of the Commission for Countering Extremism; and what criteria the Government plans to use to appoint commissioners to that Commission.

Victoria Atkins: In September 2017 the Government launched a public recruitment campaign to appoint a Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism. The deadline for applications was 15 October 2017. Once the campaign is complete an announcement will be made.The successful candidate for Lead Commissioner will advise the Home Secretary on the Commission’s future role and shape, including the appointment of further commissioners.

Heathrow Airport: Immigration Controls

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the biometric passport control machines at Heathrow Airport are not open 24 hours a day.

Brandon Lewis: Border Force Heathrow open ePassport Gates between the airport operating hours of 0500 – 2300 hours. Whilst the number of ePassport gates open is demand-led, these hours are extended to maintain the passenger flow in accordance with agreed SLAs and to accommodate the number of arriving passengers.

Human Trafficking: Prostitution

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to end sex trafficking in the UK.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has provided £8.5m of additional funding to the police in England and Wales to tackle all forms of modern slavery by providing bespoke and dedicated modern slavery capabilities, including intelligence and training functions. In addition, the National Crime Agency is coordinating a series of intensifications across the UK against key modern slavery threats, including sex trafficking.Policing in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved responsibility, however both police forces work closely with their English and Welsh counterparts to share intelligence and align resources against common modern slavery threats, including sex trafficking.

Vetting

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November to Question 111100, on vetting, what information she has on the average time within which the DBS provides responses.

Victoria Atkins: The average processing time for a standard or enhanced disclosure check by the Disclosure and Barring Service was 11.53 days in October 2017.

Slavery

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to reinstate data on decisions for people referred into the national referral mechanism.

Victoria Atkins: Data on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) are published regularly by the National Crime Agency and in the UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery. These reports include a number of different breakdowns of the data, including by the total conclusive grounds decision outcomes. These reports are available via the following links: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery

Syringes

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and the devolved administrations on the siting of needle exchange facilities.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office worked with a range of government departments at official and ministerial level, including the Department of Health, to develop the Government’s 2017 Drug Strategy, which was published on 14 July. The strategy is clear that maintaining the availability of injecting equipment through needle and syringe programmes plays a key role in preventing blood borne infections. Alongside the Strategy, the Department of Health published the updated ‘Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management’, which provides further advice for clinicians and commissioners on this issue. It is for local authorities and their partners to follow local planning processes in order to reach a decision on the location of needle and syringe exchanges. The UK Government continues to regularly engage with the devolved administrations on a broad range of drug policy issues, including treatment and recovery support and approaches to reducing wider health harms associated with drug misuse.

Visas

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking improve its accountability to visa applicants who have experienced administrative errors relating to their applications.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of administrative errors it makes.

Brandon Lewis: UK Visas and Immigration continually reviews its visa operation to improve performance and accountability. Customer feedback, including complaints, are taken into account to ensure we offer value for money; which includes improving the services we offer, the quality of the decisions we make, and the provision of an excellent customer service.More widely, we have assurance regimes which aim to increase consistent quality and identify good and weak practice within the department. We utilise three regimes; operational oversight, independent business reviews and third party reviews, in conjunction with wider Home Office, in order to develop and ensure best practice.

Police: Emergency Calls

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the year on year percentage changes in 999 calls to each territorial police force in England and Wales was in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The handling of 999 calls is an operational matter for the police.HMICFRS publish 999 calls data as part of their Value for Money reports, available at http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/data/value-for-money-data/

Cybercrime

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the year on year percentage change in recorded cyber-dependent crime was in each territorial police force area in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects information from police forces on the number of police recorded offences that have been committed (in full or in part) online. This covers both cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crime; these data cannot be broken down further. Online crime figures are published for England and Wales as experimental statistics in the ONS ‘Crime in England and Wales’ quarterly bulletins: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesexperimentaltables (Table E4). Recording online crime became mandatory from April 2015 therefore data prior to this are not available.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) HM Treasury officials on real terms rises in the funding allocated to Police & Crime Commissioners; how she plans to address unanticipated cost rises; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office and HM Treasury are working together to deliver the police funding settlement for 2018/19. It is not our policy to comment on these discussions. The Minister for Policing & the Fire Service has also spoken to all 43 police forces about changing demand and how it can best be managed. Provisional funding allocations for Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales will be published as part of the 2018/19 provisional police funding settlement in December.

Immigration: Stoke on Trent

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for indefinite leave to remain from residents in Stoke-on-Trent are awaiting a decision.

Brandon Lewis: The information is not published in the format requested.

Children: Ethnic Groups

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, was estimate she has made of the number of BAME children that have been arrested in England in each of the last five years

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests broken down by ethnicity and age group, on an annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin and accompanying tables, the latest of which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2017 The Open Data Tables accompanying this release show the number of arrests broken down by police force, reason for arrest, ethnicity, age group and gender with a full time series back to 2006/07, which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654470/arrests-open-data-tables-ppp.ods

Crimes of Violence

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Home Secretary, what steps she is taking to ensure the police have adequate funding to tackle violent crime.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government has protected police spending since 2015. Since then, Po-lice and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have received broadly flat cash direct resource funding and we are increasing investment in transformation and improved communications and technology capabilities.We know that crime is changing, and we are sensitive to current pressures on policing. That is why I am undertaking a programme of engagement with the sector to understand the impact of changing demands, and to hear how the police are managing this. That includes what more can be done to improve productivity and efficiency, reduce bureaucracy, and make prudent use of financial reserves.Decisions about the allocation of police resources and deployment of officers are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable PCCs. They are responsible for ensuring the needs of the local community are met.

Slavery: Victim Support Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of providing weekly drop-in support services for victims of modern slavery.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the introduction of weekly drop-in support services for victims of modern slavery.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish guidance on victim identification and support for those who have been subject to human trafficking.

Victoria Atkins: The recent announcements on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) reform indicate the Government’s commitment to markedly improve the identification of, and support provided to, victims of modern slavery. This includes the provision of ‘drop in’ services for all confirmed victims for up to 6 months after leaving support to aid the transition, provided by The Salvation Army.The Government also announced its intention to invoke Section 50 of the Modern Slavery Act, setting out in regulation the support that victims are entitled to and to launch a consultation in the preparation of statutory guidance, under Section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act, on identification and support for victims of slavery; Detailed implementation plans for the reform programme are currently being developed which will identify likely timescales for each of the reform measures and the relevant cost implications will be factored into our routine financial planning process.

Human Trafficking

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether safehouses for the victims of human trafficking have a statutory duty to inform social workers which county the victims have been placed in;and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: When a victim of modern slavery is referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) they are offered access to a safe house or outreach support to facilitate their recovery. Details of the location of safe houses are not shared widely to ensure the safety of residents. Victims of modern slavery who are resident in safe houses are assisted by their support worker to access the support they need from statutory services.

Immigration

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether applicants refused further leave to remain in the UK who had been granted recourse to public funds can continue to receive such public funds until their appeal rights against such a refusal have been exhausted.

Brandon Lewis: Applicants who have recourse to public funds, can continue to receive such funds until their appeal is finally determined if they had valid leave when they made their application, and that leave and conditions were extended when their leave expired.

Slavery

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to update the 2014 figure for the estimated number of victims of modern slavery; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: The Government recognises the importance of understanding the scale and nature of modern slavery in the UK. In 2014, the Home Office estimated there were 10,000-13,000 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK in 2013. This estimate used a methodology known as Multiple Systems Estimation.The data this estimate was based on is no longer collected in a manner that enables Multiple Systems Estimation to be repeated. However, our understanding of the scale of modern slavery is evolving as more victims are identified and following increased operational activity. Last month the Home Office published research that examined the nature of different types of modern slavery in the UK, this research can be accessed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-typology-of-modern-slavery-offences-in-the-uk

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces have applied for special grant funding due to additional costs incurred through Operation Temperer.

Mr Nick Hurd: No police force has applied for Special Grant funding for Operation Temperer. In recognition of the pressures on policing following this year’s terrorist attacks, the Home Secretary has already announced a further £24 million for counter-terrorism policing.

Greater Manchester Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Special Grant Guidance published on 7 October 2015, whether Greater Manchester Police will be required to fund costs of up to 1 per cent of that force's budget before receiving her Department's support in relation to the Manchester Arena terrorist attack of 22 May 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Prime Minister has already indicated the Government will pay for unexpected and additional costs in coping with the attack, which will include all the policing costs sought by the force.

Emergency Services: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential benefits of expediting Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services review process of the Special Grant in the event of a terrorist incident.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the average length of time the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service review process takes and (b) the average waiting time from the initial Special Grant application from the relevant Police and Crime Commissioner through to a decision on funding being made by her Department.

Mr Nick Hurd: Obtaining independent and considered professional advice from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services on whether the costs claimed are reasonable and proportionate is an important part of the Special Grant process. Forces across England and Wales have reserves of over £1.6bn and should be able to use these funds to help meet any immediate costs while an application for Special Grant funding is pending.

Private Rented Housing: Undocumented Migrants

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of landlords' right to immigration checks on the ability of immigrant families to secure accommodation.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effect of landlords' rights to immigration checks on discrimination and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Brandon Lewis: Landlords should check that prospective tenants have a right to rent in the UK by carrying out simple document checks under the Immigration Act 2014. Prior to implementing these arrangements across England, the Home Office undertook an evaluation of phase one of the Right to Rent scheme in the West Midlands. A mystery shopping element, carried out by independent researchers, found no evidence that the scheme caused discrimination in access to accommodation. This evaluation was informed and overseen by a Landlord Consultative Panel of housing experts and others, including the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This panel, which is co-chaired by the Minister for Immigration and Lord Best OBE, an acknowledged expert in housing and planning matters, has continued to monitor the results of the scheme. The published evaluation report can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-right-to-rent-scheme The Government has published a Code of Practice that advises landlords on how unlawful discrimination should be avoided. The Equality and Human Rights Commission and Equality Commission for Northern Ireland assisted in the drafting of this Code.

Private Rented Housing: Undocumented Migrants

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many households have been subject to landlords' immigration checks in each year since 2014.

Brandon Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally.

Immigrants: Detainees

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigrants have been held in immigration removal centres in each of the last 20 quarters; and of those how many have been (a) released and (b) removed from the UK.

Brandon Lewis: Reasons for leaving detention by quarter may be found in table dt_06_q of the detention tables in the latest releases of ‘Immigration Statistics, April to June 2017’, available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/638608/detention-apr-jun-2017-tables.ods

Home Office: Training

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2017 to Question 113317, whether her Department has plans to publish data on the numbers of its case workers who undertook Keeping Children Safe Tier 3 training.

Brandon Lewis: Keeping Children Safe Tier 3 training is aimed at asylum decision-makers responsible for processing asylum claims from children, following completion of Tier 1 and Tier 2. Unfortunately, the Home Office does not hold the information on numbers of caseworkers who undertook this training in a reportable format and currently there are no plans to have them published.

Passports: South East

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people born on 3 May 2000 or earlier are in possession of a passport registered in (a) Woking, (b) Gosport, (c) Bromley or (d) Watford local authority who are aged (i) under 24, (ii) 25 to 49, (iii) 50 to 64 and (iv) 65 or older.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 October 2017, UIN 108548.

Wales Office

Economic Situation: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what specific opportunities for the Welsh economy he has identified that are currently precluded by the UK's membership of the European Union.

Alun Cairns: The Welsh economy approaches its departure from the EU in a strong position. Such strength is demonstrated in Wales’s ability to attract globally recognised brands such as Aston Martin and Qatar Airways. As we leave the EU we are seeking to take advantage of all opportunities available to us and build on this demand for Welsh goods and services. We will work with industry in Wales to help forge a new culture of exporting and ensure we are working to equip them with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed in the global marketplace. For instance, leaving the EU presents a major opportunity for Welsh and wider UK agriculture and we are working towards achieving the best possible deal for the agricultural industry across the UK. We want to secure a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement as an alternative to membership of the Single Market, which preserves our access to EU markets for red meat, including Welsh lamb, and all agricultural products.

HM Treasury

Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 22 of Autumn Budget 2017, how the £3 billion set aside to prepare for the UK leaving the EU will be allocated across (a) government departments and (b) public authorities.

Elizabeth Truss: The additional funding from the Reserve in 18/19 and 19/20 is being set aside to ensure funding is available as required. HMT will work with departments and DExEU over the coming weeks to refine estimates of departmental requirements and will allocate 18/19 funding in early 2018. Departmental allocations for 2019-20 will be agreed later in 2018-19. Departmental allocations from the Reserve will be set out at Supplementary Estimates in the relevant year as is usual.

Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 22 of Autumn Budget 2017, how the £700 million already allocated to prepare for the UK leaving the EU has been allocated across (a) government departments and (b) public authorities.

Elizabeth Truss: The £700m of additional funding already allocated includes £412m of additional funding that DIT, FCO and DExEU received over the parliament that was set out at Autumn Statement 2016. In addition, the Treasury has also allocated £250m from the Reserve to a number of departments in 17/18. Departmental allocations from the 17/18 Reserve will be set out at Supplementary Estimates, in the usual way.

Refuges: Domestic Violence

Jess Phillips: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue guidance to HM Revenue and Customs staff that they should accept reasonable third party evidence that a woman lives with her children in a refuge, following domestic abuse, as sufficient to demonstrate that she is responsible for, and living with, her children.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will take third party evidence into account when deciding on issues of child responsibility. HMRC recognises the particular needs of these vulnerable customers and has a dedicated team that prioritises any claims in this area.

Financial Services: Regulation

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to change financial regulation in response to the ecohouse fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: While HM Treasury sets the legislative framework for the regulation of financial services, the supervision and regulation of the financial services industry is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA is an independent, non-governmental body and HM Treasury cannot intervene in individual cases. Investment in real estate is regulated by the FCA where it is undertaken as a consequence of having taken regulated financial advice, or by way of a regulated collective investment scheme. In 2014, the FCA prohibited the promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes, such as EcoHouse, and non-mainstream pooled investments to retail investors. Fraud is a criminal offence and as such, is a matter for the police.

Productivity: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.4 of the Autumn Budget 2017, how his Department plans to address the productivity gap in the North East compared to other regions of the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: This government places addressing the UK’s productivity challenge at the heart of its economic plan. As set out in the Budget 2017, the government will drive productivity and growth in every region of the UK by investing in infrastructure, developing skills, supporting business and devolving powers. Those going into technical education in the North East will benefit from the nationwide investment of up to £20m to prepare for T Levels. The Autumn Budget also announced a £337 million investment to replace the Tyne & Wear Metro rolling stock, and transport users in the Tees Valley Combined Authority will benefit from £59 million for investment in transport projects.

Personal Savings: Interest Rates

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the Financial Conduct Authority's implementation of new rules and guidance on interest rates on savings accounts.

Stephen Barclay: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. The Government believes that it is important that consumers have the information they need to make sensible decisions about their money. In 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a study of the cash savings market, which concluded that competition in the sector was not working as effectively as it could be. As a result, the FCA developed a series of measures to improve outcomes for consumers which included introducing rules applicable from 1 December 2016 to improve the information firms make available to consumers and to make it easier for them to switch accounts. This included guidance on the prominent display of interest rates and notifications. In addition, the FCA trialled a ‘sunlight’ remedy, which aimed to bring to light firms’ strategies towards their longstanding customers. This involved the publication of the lowest interest rates offered on easy access cash savings accounts and easy access cash ISAs on the FCA’s website between 2015 and 2016. The FCA is currently evaluating the effectiveness of the ‘sunlight’ remedy trial and considering whether to introduce this disclosure into rules and whether any other actions may be needed to achieve more effective competition.

EU Budget: Contributions

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table C5 of the 2017 Autumn Budget 2017 and Table B.4 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic Economic and Fiscal Outlook November 2017, when the forecast own resources contribution to the EU of £3.5bn in 2019-20 and subsequent years will be reallocated to domestic UK spending, what plans he has for these monies; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s independent forecast has maintained EU contributions past the point of exit in order to produce a fiscally neutral forecast; they have made no assumptions on the outcome of future policy decisions. The funding choices we take after exiting the EU will be based on the UK’s domestic priorities and will also be affected by the then economic environment and the fiscal position. We are determined to secure the very best deal we can for households and businesses in these negotiations and to seize the opportunities ahead by laying the foundations of a stronger, fairer Britain outside the EU.

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on repayment of monies held by HM Revenue and Customs to the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust.

Mel Stride: The Government receives representations on a wide range of issues. It is not normal practice to release details of representations regarding specific cases.

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the regulation of employee benefit trusts following the representations made on behalf of the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust.

Mel Stride: I refer the Hon Member to my written answer of 5 July 2017 (UIN 1465).

Roadchef: Scotland

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on behalf of beneficiaries of the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust in Scotland.

Mel Stride: The Government receives representations on a wide range of issues. It is not normal practice to release details of representations regarding specific cases.

Small Businesses: Tax Collection

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans for Making Tax Digital to be mandatory for businesses below the VAT threshold; and if he will make statement.

Mel Stride: I refer the Honourable member to my written statement to the House on 13 July which is available here.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-07-13/HCWS47/

Children: Day Care

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many successful applications have been made for tax-free childcare accounts in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is not available at the current time.

Unemployment: Wolverhampton North East

Emma Reynolds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the reasons why the level of unemployment in Wolverhampton North East constituency is more than twice the national average; and what steps his Department is taking to lower the rate of unemployment in Wolverhampton North East constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The unemployment rate in Wolverhampton North East is less than half it was in 2010. At 7.1%, it is down from 12.1% a year ago and 16.4% in 2010. There are 5,100 more people in work in Wolverhampton North East than in 2010. Jobcentre staff are doing an effective job helping people into work and 90% of Jobseekers end their claim within a year. We are proud of this record but not complacent. That is why we are currently introducing targeted support for young people, people with disabilities and the long-term unemployed. Reforming the welfare system is key to helping people into work. Under the last Labour Government, some benefit claimants lost £1 for every £1 they earned meaning it didn’t pay to work and people were left trapped on benefits. Under the new system, people benefit from every extra hour worked, so work really pays and people have the opportunity to become more financially secure and develop skills to access greater opportunities. Only by securing a strong economy can we create the jobs people need to be financially secure. That’s why we’ve kept public spending under control while acting to boost productivity over the long-term by increasing the National Productivity Investment Fund by £8 billion. As part of locally specific support for the West Midlands, we are providing up to £4.7m for a trial in the region to help boost the prospects of disadvantaged individuals getting jobs and progress the careers of those on low incomes.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many days' sick leave officials in his Department took for reasons relating to stress in the last year.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last year; and what proportion of total sick leave in his Department that leave was.

Mr Steve Baker: Health and Wellbeing forms part of the Department for Exiting the European Union’s commitment to making the Department a great place to work. The Department has a dedicated mental health and wellbeing group who have been leading on a number of wellbeing activities across the Department to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of staff employed in the Department. This includes: In February 2017, the Department signed up to the Time for Change pledge to demonstrate the Department’s commitment to reducing the stigma attached to mental health.To date, 32 DExEU staff have been trained by Mental Health First Aid England as mental health champions.Marking World Mental Health Day with a panel discussion sharing mental health and wellbeing experiences. In the last year, the proportion of officials absent due to stress or mental health conditions was 1%, this is fewer than 10 individuals. Therefore the Department is not in a position to release the information requested as individuals may be identifiable.

Impact Assessments: Sports

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, for what reasons his Department has not commissioned an impact assessment for the sports sector.

Mr Robin Walker: The Department for Exiting the European Union, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of analysis to support progress in the negotiations. However, as I said in my opening remarks to the House on 1 November and reiterated in my statement on 28 November, the Government has not produced a series of sectoral impact assessments. The sectoral analysis which has been conducted is a wide mix of analysis contained in a range of documents developed at different times since the referendum, covering a variety of sectors from across the UK economy. While there is no specific Sports report, the Sports sector will be directly and indirectly affected by issues raised in other reports such as broadcasting and professional business services. Recognising the importance of Sport we have been working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport to engage with a range of sporting organisations at both ministerial and official level.

Department for Exiting the European Union	: Public Expenditure

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many losses and special payments have been made by his Department in the 2017-18 financial year to date; and what the value of those losses and payments have been.

Mr Steve Baker: The Department for Exiting the European Union has made one item of expenditure that can be deemed as a loss in the 2017-18 financial year to date. The total value of this payment was £33,750. There have been no special payments made by the Department in the 2017-18 financial year.

Department for International Trade

Small Businesses

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to his Oral Answer on 23 November 2017, what criteria he used to locate staff from the Export Hub on Small Business Saturday.

Mark Garnier: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 28 November 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Export Hub is invited to locations across the UK, and has so far visited 2315 sites. Any Member of Parliament is able to request for the Export Hub to visit their constituency.The logistics for managing the Export Hub is contracted through an external company.Many cross-party MPs have spoken highly of the work of the Export Hub at the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Monthly MPs Briefings which the DIT Ministerial team hosts.

Mark Garnier: The Export Hub is invited to locations across the UK, and has so far visited 2315 sites. Any Member of Parliament is able to request for the Export Hub to visit their constituency.The logistics for managing the Export Hub is contracted through an external company.Many cross-party MPs have spoken highly of the work of the Export Hub at the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Monthly MPs Briefings which the DIT Ministerial team hosts.

Department for International Trade: Recruitment

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to launch a specific graduate scheme for recruits to his Department.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade is an active participant in the Civil Service Fast Stream programme – the primary scheme for graduates looking to join the Civil Service. In building capability in the Department and for the Trade profession, all resourcing options are currently being explored.

Exports

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the volume of British exports in the next 12 months?

Mark Garnier: The Office for Budget Responsibility, in their November 2017 Economic and fiscal outlook, estimates that real exports of UK goods and services will grow by 3.4 per cent in 2018.

Overseas Trade: South East Asia

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will make a statement on his Department’s strategy for trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Mark Garnier: ASEAN member states accounted for over £32bn of UK trade in 2016. As we expand our global trade, it is vital that we work with businesses and governments to build on these important relationships.We have a number of high-level strategic dialogues and working groups with ASEAN countries, and my department has made several ministerial visits in the last year, as have our three Trade Envoys who cover the ASEAN region.We are recruiting Her Britannic Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the ASEAN countries. The HMTC will oversee our trade and investment strategy for ASEAN and the wider region.

Exports

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to the public purse was of setting up and operating the Export Opportunities Portal.

Mark Garnier: The cost of setting up and operating the current Export Opportunities service launched on 14 November 2016 as part of the great.gov.uk platform is estimated at £1.1 million to 31 October 2017. This cost was for design, build, content, hosting and security checking of the service.Export opportunities published are gathered by our network of Embassy and High-Commission trade experts, as well as overseas partners as part of their overseas support for UK businesses.

Exports

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many small and medium-sized enterprises have registered on the Export Opportunities Portal.

Mark Garnier: There have been a number of versions of the Export Opportunities service over the years.The current iteration, which is part of the great.gov.uk platform, was launched on 14 November 2016.In the year from 14 November 2016 to 13 November 2017, 11,400 opportunities were published, which received 69,500 enquiries from 33,054 UK companies registered on Export Opportunities.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Rural Areas

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress she is making on securing maximum ultra-fast broadband access in rural areas.

Matt Hancock: By supporting locally led projects, the Government's Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme aims to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre. This is the gold standard of broadband and will deliver connections capable of gigabit speeds, far beyond ultrafast. On 22 November 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer opened the £190 million LFFN Challenge Fund for local bodies to bid from, for projects that aim to stimulate commercial investment in gigabit capable infrastructure across the UK, including in rural areas Over the summer, we received expressions of interest in the LFFN Programme from a number of local bodies in Northern Ireland:Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council;Ards and North Down Borough Council;Armagh City Council,Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council;Belfast City CouncilCauseway Coast and Glens Borough Council;Derry City and Strabane District Council;Fermanagh and Omagh District Council;Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council;Mid and East Antrim Borough Council; Mid Ulster District Council;Newry, Mourne and Down District Council We look forward to bids from local bodies in Northern Ireland now that the Challenge Fund is open.

Culture: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 4.83 of the Autumn Budget 2017, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating some of that funding for cultural projects to support regeneration and local growth in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the North East.

John Glen: We recognise the powerful role that culture plays in regeneration and local growth, and we are committed to ensuring these benefits are spread across the country. The Great Exhibition of the North will be the largest event in England in 2018 and a game-changing moment for the North of England. Further announcements on how the funding announced at Budget will be invested will follow in due course.

Arts: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport, how much funding her Department has allocated in grants for the arts to Coventry South constituency in each of the last five years.

John Glen: Through Arts Council England, Government has invested over £13m into the Coventry South constituency over the past 5 years (2012/13-2016/17). The table below outlines this funding in detail.   2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17National Portfolio Organisations£ 1,641,102.60£ 1,569,376.31£ 1,578,179.44£ 1,501,557.00£ 1,501,557.00Music Education Hubs£ 295,869.00£ 380,991.00£ 381,854.00£ 498,525.00£ 503,817.00Grants for the arts£ 115,297.00£ 192,268.00£ 119,007.00£ 107,347.00£ 218,604.00Strategic£ 1,355,160.00£ 374,216.00£ 281,141.00£ 209,925.00£ 208,000.00Grand Total£ 3,407,428.60£ 2,516,851.31£ 2,360,181.44£ 2,317,354.00£ 2,431,978.00

European Capital of Culture

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list all meetings between Ministers and officials from her Department and representatives of the European Commission in 2017 at which the European Capital of Culture 2023 was discussed.

John Glen: Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website. DCMS officials have been in regular contact with the European Commission throughout 2017.

Digital Technology: Regulation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2017 to Question 1680, on digital technology: regulation, when he plans to publish proposals for a new digital charter.

Matt Hancock: We are already making important progress through our Digital Charter. This includes the publication of the Internet Safety Strategy green paper on 11 October, which sets out our plan to make the UK the safest place to be online, and the announcement of funding for a new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation at Budget. We will set out more detail on work that will be taken forward as part of the Charter in due course.

Northern Ireland Office

Blood: Northern Ireland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what provision the recent Budget for Northern Ireland makes for ex gratia support for Northern Ireland citizens affected by contaminated blood; and whether that support is higher than the support provided in the previous fiscal year.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 29 November 2017



The provision made for those citizens affected by contaminated blood in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. In the absence of an Executive, spending and policy decisions fall to the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), though clearly there are a range of strategic decisions which require political decision-makers to be in place to take. That is why it is imperative we see a restored Executive in place, so that local politicians can take forward an agenda that delivers for the whole community in Northern Ireland. As to the legislative framework, the Budget Act 2017 does no more than provide broad spending limits and ambits for NI departments, rather than detailing spending on specific programmes or initiatives. As above, those detailed decisions remain for the NICS. I have therefore asked if the NICS would respond to you directly on the 2017-18 position in this regard.

Department of Health

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the oral Question of the hon. Member for Weaver Vale and the response from the Under-Secretary of State on 14 November, HC Deb, Vol. 631, Col. 143, whether that commitment applies to all ongoing payments currently received by the bereaved partners of those infected.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The discretionary payments for the remainder of this financial year will not change and there will be no reductions. NHS Business Services Authority is carrying out a review of the discretionary payment arrangements and the new system will be launched in April 2018. The new discretionary payment scheme will be a fairer, more transparent and flexible system that will direct funding to those most in need of financial support. As under the existing arrangements this discretionary support will be open to all beneficiaries, including bereaved partners of the infected and their families. There will also be an increase in the overall level of discretionary funding for 2018-19 as announced in September 2017.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHs Trust

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust will be required to take in the event that it is unable to accrue those savings required by the current cost improvement programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: Delivery of Cost Improvement Programmes will be a major part of helping any trust to deliver its control totals. Circumstances will vary across trusts and NHS Improvement will offer a range of support packages for trusts facing gaps in their financial targets and these are tailored to trusts’ needs appropriately. The National Health Service leadership bodies have developed their own plan in partnership with local providers to deliver financial sustainability in this and future years.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of people in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme received their first treatment appointment within six weeks of referral under West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of people in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme received their first treatment appointment within six weeks of referral under Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The table below provides the information requested for 2015 – 2016. The data for 2016-2017 is due to be published on 30 November.Number and proportion of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) referrals who waited less than six weeks for treatment and entered treatment in 2015/16 for the requested Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).  Total number of referrals entering treatmentOf which waited less than six weeks to enter treatmentProportion who waited less than six weeksNHS West Kent CCG6,3156,02095%NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG3,4152,75081%Source: IAPT dataset, NHS Digital Note: Waiting time to enter treatment is calculated as the number of days between the referral received date and the first attended treatment appointment.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average number of hospital bed days is for children and young people under 18 in tier 4 wards in (a) 2010, (b)2015 and (c) 2017 in i) England, ii) West Kent and iii) Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information is not available in the format requested. Data is only available for England in 2016/17, in which the number of bed days for children and young people under 18 in tier 4 wards was 458,145, and the average length of stay was 99 days.

Mental Health Services

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to help clinical commissioning groups in Kent meet the targets set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View for mental health care.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Kent Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and their partners’ success in delivering ambitions for mental health as set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View are monitored through NHS England assurance processes, this is included in the NHS England guidance to CCGs.

Obesity: Children

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will ensure that physical activity programmes will be funded at a commensurate level to that made available for nutritional schemes in phase two of the Child Obesity Strategy.

Steve Brine: Physical activity and sport are a key part of our Childhood Obesity Plan and have an important role in maintaining and improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Through the plan we have committed to invest revenue from the soft drinks industry levy in child health and physical activity, including doubling the primary PE and sport premium to £320 million a year from the 2017-18 academic year and £100 million in 2018-19 for the healthy pupils capital fund. We will consider future funding as we continue to deliver our world-leading plan.

Sepsis

Lee Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of recent measures to (a) raise awareness of sepsis and (b) improve the diagnosis of that condition.

Mr Philip Dunne: In September 2017, NHS England published the second Cross-System Sepsis Action Plan which sets out existing and new cross-system measures to support early diagnosis and timely treatment of sepsis in a range of settings. The effectiveness of these measures is currently assessed through the NHS England Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) scheme which also incentives acute providers to improve the identification and timely treatment of sepsis. The data shows that the measures are already delivering change:- Emergency Department assessment has increased from 52% to 87% since this part of the CQUIN started in April 2015 and timely treatment increased from 49% to 72% in the same period; and- In-patient assessment for sepsis increased from 62% to 78% and timely treatment has increased from 58% to 76% for these patients since this part of the CQUIN started in April 2016. An evaluation is currently underway on the best way to improve measurement of sepsis cases and outcomes. In 2016, Public Health England launched a national sepsis campaign in partnership with the UK Sepsis Trust. The effectiveness of the campaign was assessed by independent market research by online interviews before and after the activity with the target audience to see how awareness and knowledge had changed. This research shows that awareness among parents rose from the baseline figure of 75% to 83%. In addition, following the campaign, parents who reported knowing a fair amount or a great deal about sepsis increased from 38% to 61% and 75% could name at least one of the key symptoms of sepsis and 57% could name two.

In Vitro Fertilisation

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which clinical commissioning groups deny IVF treatment if either member of a couple has previously had children.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to (a) facilitate whistleblowing in the NHS, and (b) ensure that  whistleblowers are are not prevented from future employment in (i) the NHS, and (ii) other health-related careers?

Mr Philip Dunne: Following the Freedom to Speak Up independent policy review report published in February 2015, the Department has taken a number of steps to help create a culture in the National Health Service where staff feel able to raise concerns and where those concerns are acted on without reprisal: - The Department expects all NHS organisations to have in place speaking up policies. These policies should be complied with and communicated to all employees; - In April 2016, the National Guardian’s Office was established, based in the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Dr Henrietta Hughes was appointed as National Guardian in October 2016. The National Guardian’s role is to support whistle-blowers in the NHS and improve reporting culture. The National Guardian advises and supports a network of individuals who act independently within NHS trusts. These ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardians’ are responsible for developing a culture of openness in NHS trusts and NHS foundations trusts in England. Local Guardians have been appointed across all NHS trusts, foundation trusts and NHS providers in primary care and the independent sector are also appointing guardians. The size of the guardian network is over 500 individuals and is still growing; - The Department funds a freephone helpline for the health and social care sector offering free, impartial and confidential guidance to staff who wish to raise concerns but are not sure how or what protections they have when they do; - In addition to these actions, in 2017 the Government introduced legislation to impose a duty on prescribed persons (such as the CQC and the professional regulatory bodies) to report annually on whistleblowing disclosures made to them; - The Government has also extended the definition of ‘worker’ within the whistleblowing statutory framework in the Employment Rights Act 1996 to include student nurses and student midwives, meaning those people are now afforded protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. The intention is to extend the definition further to include other healthcare students when Parliamentary time allows; and - The Department is looking to strengthen protection for whistle-blowers further in legislation by putting further in place regulations which prohibit discrimination against whistle-blowers (or applicants believed by the prospective employer to have been whistle-blowers) when they apply for jobs with prescribed NHS employers. This will support NHS employers in being an exemplar to others in fostering a culture of openness and a willingness to report problems with care. The Department is analysing responses to the public consultation on the draft regulations.

Dental Health: Care Homes

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate has he made of the number of people in care homes with oral health problems.

Steve Brine: In 2016, Public Health England reported on oral health in older people, including some based in care homes, in England and Wales using data from existing surveys. The report found that: older adults living in care homes were more likely to have no natural teeth and less likely to have a functional dentition; older adults living in care homes were more likely to have higher levels of tooth decay; older adults in general were less likely to rate their oral health as good and appear to have poorer oral health related quality of life than the general adult population and care home managers experienced greater difficulty in accessing dental care for residents than household resident older adults did. The survey can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oral-health-of-older-people-in-england-and-wales

Dental Health: Care Homes

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to provide training on oral health to care home staff.

Jackie Doyle-Price: It is the responsibility of social care provider organisations by law, to ensure their employees are suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced. They are also responsible for ensuring their employees receive appropriate support, training and professional development, to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform. These include oral health, for adults in care homes. Guidelines, quality standards, and assessment tools have been developed and published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, working in collaboration with Skills for Care. These provide guidance for residential and nursing care home staff who provide daily personal care to residents.

Dental Health

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will work with the CQC to ensure that inspections of care homes and hospitals include an assessment of the standards of oral health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for deciding its own regulatory inspection and assessment framework. The CQC has advised the following: Oral health is an integral part of general health and the CQC recognises that for those residents in care homes, or patients in hospital, oral health is important in terms of dignity, self-esteem and comfort. The assessment of oral health needs in care homes is covered by several care Key Lines of Enquiry in the CQC’s inspection and assessment framework. The maintenance of oral health for patients in hospital is similarly important, and should be part of good nursing care where patients are unable to look after their oral health themselves.

Diabetes UK

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he last met with the chief executive of Diabetes UK.

Steve Brine: The Department as well as its Ministers maintain a regular dialogue with organisations concerned with the health of those with, and at risk of, diabetes; including Diabetes UK. I met the Chief Executive of Diabetes UK on World Diabetes Day, Tuesday 14 November 2017 and before that on 11 October 2017.

Diabetes: Pregnancy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued for GPs on managing the causes of gestational diabetes.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published a clinical guideline on ‘Diabetes in pregnancy: management from preconception to the postnatal period’; this was published in February 2015. The guideline covers managing diabetes and its complications in women who are planning pregnancy or are already pregnant. It aims to improve the diagnosis of gestational diabetes and help women with diabetes to self-manage their blood glucose levels before and during pregnancy.

Diabetes: Pregnancy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women developed gestinal diabetes in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital were able to provide a count of Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) delivery episodes with a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes mellitus arising in pregnancy for the years 2015-16 and 2016-17. Financial YearPrimary diagnosisSecondary diagnosis2015-1610,46832,9742016-1711,70838,280 Source: HES, NHS Digital Activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector The data held in HES is a count of hospital attendances, not individual patients, as the same person may have been admitted into a NHS Hospital on more than one occasion. This only includes admissions to a hospital in England where there is a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes mellitus arising in pregnancy. It does not include episodes where the patient was not admitted to hospital.

Mental Health Services: Older People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times are for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies  services for patients (a) over 65 and (b) over 75 years of age, in each year since 2011.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is shown in the table below: Mean waiting times1,2 (in days) to enter treatment of Improving Access to Psychological Therapy referrals who finished a course of treatment3 in 2014/15 and 2015/16 at England level and split by age group.  2014/152015/16Referrals for those aged 65 to 7432.327.3Referrals for those aged over 7530.526.2Notes:1Waiting time to enter treatment is calculated as the number of days between the referral received date and the first attended treatment appointment. Referral received date and the first treatment appointment dates do not necessarily occur in the year. 2The waiting times here are based on the current methodology, used in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 annual publications, which calculates waiting times based on the number of referrals finishing a course of treatment in the year. Previous years' annual data are based on an earlier methodology that is not comparable with the data included here. 3In order to finish a course of treatment, a referral must have ended in the year with at least two treatment appointments having been attended in the course of the referral.

Mental Health Services: Older People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent by each NHS trust on specified services for older patient's mental health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not collected.

Mental Health Services

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of patients who are discharged on a Care Programme Approach from hospitals in (a) Kent and (b) England are contacted within seven days.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of patients discharged on a Care Programme Approach from hospitals in the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group are contacted within seven days.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The data requested is published. All of the numbers are for Q2 2017/18:- AreaNumbersPercentageKent1150 out of 15596.8%England15,814 out of 16,34796.7%West Kent83 out of 8498.8% Note: 1Total of NHS South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS West Kent CCG

Clinical Psychologists

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, What steps he is taking to ensure adequate numbers of  trained clinicians in psychological therapies at each  NHS trust.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 31 July Health Education England (HEE) published the National Health Service workforce plan for England; setting out concrete steps for delivering 21,000 new posts (professional and allied) across the mental health system, with the expectation that 19,000 of these places would be filled by staff employed directly by the NHS. The plan focuses on both new staff and on improved retention of existing staff, as well as new roles and new models of mental health care. The plan can be found at:https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/CCS0717505185-1_FYFV%20Mental%20health%20workforce%20plan%20for%20England_v5%283%29.pdfImplementation of the plan is being led by HEE and NHS England working through HEE Regional Leads and the NHS England Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) who will need to demonstrate how the workforce plan is being taken into account by STPs as part of their future planning. This will include plans for expanding the mental health workforce in both primary and secondary care settings. Staffing and service provision in the NHS in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a matter for each of the devolved administrations.

Autism

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of training in autism diagnosis for clinicians in the NHS.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking ensure that NHS Trusts have adequate numbers of clinicians trained in the diagnosis of autism.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for the planning and funding of post-registration medical education. HEE works directly with a number of partners, including National Health Service trusts, to assess demand and supply for clinical staff, and commissions programmes of education accordingly. The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant medical Royal College, and continuing professional and personal development for registered professionals employed in the NHS is a matter for employers and those individuals. The Department has put in place a revised accountability and governance model for implementing the Autism Strategy in line with the Autism Act (2009). It has established a Workforce Development Task and Finish Group as part of this work, co-chaired by Health Education England and Skills for Care, which may consider the provision of training in autism diagnosis for clinicians in the NHS. The 2010 and 2015 statutory guidance for local authorities and the NHS to support implementation of the Autism Strategy makes it clear that autism training should be available to all staff working in health and social care.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to provide suicide risk assessment training to clinicians in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the NHS.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Training provision in the National Health Service is the responsibility of individual organisations who are expected to ensure that training supports maintaining high professional standards, professional development and high quality care. Suicide prevention is a priority for this Government and when we updated the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy earlier this year we highlighted the need to support better mental health and suicide prevention awareness across the NHS. Health Education England and Public Health England have been supporting this aim by reviewing materials such as e-learning tools for NHS professionals and are considering how best to support this nationally.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate investment in early intervention treatments for child and adolescent mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Children and young people’s (CYP) mental health is a top priority for this Government and we are clear that early intervention is vital. We are making an additional £1.4 billion available for transformation of CYP mental health services from 2015/16 – 2019/20, and have committed to ensuring an additional 70,000 CYP a year will access National Health Service mental health treatment by 2020. We have introduced the first ever waiting times standard for mental health and will shortly be publishing a joint Green Paper on CYP mental health with the Department for Education, focussing on early intervention.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the commissioning of mental health services for young adults aged 18-25 years old.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Services are expected to work together to plan transition effectively and to meet the needs of young people, as well as their families and carers. NHS England published its Model Specification for Transitions from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, in January 2015, to support better transition planning and delivery by local providers. Transition from children and young people’s mental health services has also been included as one of 13 mandatory national indicators in the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme (2017/19). This offers financial incentives to local areas to make improvements in support of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and National Health Service mandate, and will encourage improved transition planning and better experiences for children and young people.

Obesity: Children

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government has plans to create a national all-encompassing campaign to promote the importance and value of physical activity in combating the child obesity to children across all areas.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on childhood obesity of the recommendations on the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on a fit and healthy childhood, Physical activity in early childhood, published in October 2017 on the role of baby swimming in boosting physical health and its effect on later academic performance.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to assist local authorities, voluntary organisations and business to promote a broad range of physical activity opportunities for health benefits.

Steve Brine: We welcome the All-Party Parliamentary Group on a fit and healthy childhood’s report on “Physical activity in early childhood” which provides a valuable contribution to the debate as we continue to deliver our world-leading Childhood Obesity Plan. Physical activity is a key part of our plan and has an important role in maintaining and improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people. We continue to invest in school sport through programmes such as the primary PE and sport premium, School Games, and Change4Life Sports Clubs, to encourage children to be active. Local authorities are being given over £16 billion to spend on public health over the five years of the 2015 Spending Review. We know that many are prioritising action to tackle obesity and increase physical activity according to their local need. Public Health England has developed “Everybody Active Every Day”, a national implementation framework for physical activity. This will support increased physical activity in local communities by: focussing across the whole life-course; consolidating evidence and providing a structured approach; and enabling local and national organisations to work together.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure CCGs spend their allocated budget for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The shared National Health Service planning guidance sets out what clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and providers have to do in 2017/18 and 2018/19. For children and young people’s mental health services, this includes a requirement to increase access, so that 70,000 more people receive specialist treatment nationally by 2020, and to expand eating disorder services so that the new waiting time standard is met. A joint letter to CCGs and trusts sent by NHS England Directors on 27 February 2017 specifically asked for confirmation that funds for children and young people were being used for the purpose intended. NHS England published, for the first time in October 2016, a new integrated Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard. This shows what each CCG is spending on children’s mental health services. This Mental Health Dashboard is designed to improve the transparency and accountability of CCGs, both to NHS England and to the populations they serve. NHS England’s Mental Health Investment Standard requires CCGs to increase their mental health spend in line with their overall increase in allocation each year. This is planned to be met across England as a whole in 2017/18 and 2018/19.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure holistic formulation based assessment is provided to children and young people with mental health problems.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health Education England, in partnership with NHS England, funds the delivery of a suite of therapist interventions and modalities for existing and new staff working within National Health Service commissioned services for children and young people’s mental health known as the Children’s and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP IAPT) portfolio. The CYP IAPT portfolio, as a whole, through this training supports the provision of a holistic formulation based assessment to children and young people with mental health problems.

Mental Health Services: Homelessness

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to address the rise in homeless patients presenting with mental illness at NHS (a) hospitals, (b) drop-in centres and (c) GP surgeries.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department for Communities and Local Government is working closely with the Department of Health on how we improve access to mental health services for rough sleepers, or those at risk of homelessness in England. The Government has committed over £1 billion until 2020 to local authorities to reduce homelessness and rough sleeping and has supported the Homelessness Reduction Act – due to commence in April 2018. The Act will ensure that people who are in need of assistance get the support they need before becoming homeless. The Government is also supporting 84 projects, some specifically funding mental health interventions, across 205 district and unitary local authorities in England through its £50 million Homelessness Prevention Programme offering tailored support services for people who need it and rapid support for people to make a sustainable recovery from homelessness. The Government has also set an aim to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it entirely by 2027. We are setting up a rough sleeping and homelessness taskforce and piloting a Housing First approach to tackle rough sleeping. We expect local authorities, NHS England and clinical commissioning groups to all play a crucial role in achieving these. NHS England has published guidance for general practices and patients to ensure that homeless patients are still able to access primary care services. Public Health England’s guidance ‘Improving health through the home’ provides a single point of access to wide-ranging authoritative information on data, evaluation, evidence and research related to homelessness to support providers and commissioners, such as good practice prompts for commissioning for homeless people with drug or alcohol problems.

Diabetes: Digital Technology

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential for digital technology to support (a) diabetes self-management and (b) diabetes education.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that it is supporting the implementation and evaluation of digital behaviour change interventions in eight areas in England. This live service evaluation, which commenced in November 2017, is giving people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes access to a range of apps, gadgets, wristbands and other innovative digital interventions. As part of this work, NHS England is running training sessions with primary care staff to familiarise them with these digital services and to provide them with the skills to advise and support the individuals who will be using these digital interventions.

Hormones: Pregnancy Tests

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2017 to Question 112845, if he will meet with external experts on hormone pregnancy tests.

Steve Brine: The Commission on Human Medicines Expert Working Group on Hormone Pregnancy Tests included experts in a wide range of relevant scientific disciplines and took evidence from visiting experts. After consideration of a broad range of data, the consensus conclusion of Group members was that the available scientific evidence, taking all aspects into consideration, did not support a causal association between the use of hormone pregnancy tests during early pregnancy. This conclusion was endorsed by the Commission on Human Medicines which comprises independent scientific experts of international standing. There are no plans to meet other external experts.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of evidence-based parenting programmes such as Triple P on the prevention and early intervention in mental health problems among children and young people; and whether his Department plans to include such programmes in the Mental Health Green Paper.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We are aware of the important role that parental attachment and inter-parental relationships play in protecting children and young people’s (CYP) mental health. We also recognise that parenting and family based behaviour change programmes can have a positive impact on both the prevention and treatment of conduct disorders. The upcoming Green Paper on CYP mental health will consider the role that families play in recognising mental health issues in early years and how to improve evidence in this area to inform policy making.

Slaughterhouses: Inspections

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to protect Food Standards Agency inspectors against abuse, intimidation and assault during inspection of slaughterhouse premises.

Steve Brine: Like all employers, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has an obligation to ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) the health, safety and welfare at work of all our employees and contractors under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The promotion of a good and harmonious work environment, the maintenance of bullying and harassment incident data (as reported by FSA employees and contractors), the Agency’s zero tolerance approach and the proportionate action we take in response to reported bullying and harassment incidents are all essential elements that the Agency will continue to uphold. This is to ensure that the Agency delivers our duty of care to our employees and contractors under health and safety legislation. Following consultation with industry through the Help Shape our Policy Pages of food.gov in England and Wales available at:http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/help-shape-our-policies/proposed-policy-unacceptable-fbo-behaviourFollowing several presentations within Partnership Working Group arrangement (an Industry and Food Standards Agency joint working party) a new Policy (Dealing with Unacceptable Behaviour by Food Business Operators - Withdrawal of Veterinary and Inspection Services) was formally launched in July 2017. This new policy contains a clear process to enable the Agency to manage reported incidents of bullying and harassment consistently and proportionately. Where the FSA considers that unacceptable behaviour by a Food Business Operator, their management, employees or representatives may present a serious risk to the health and safety of FSA staff or contractors action will be taken to remove our staff or contractors from the workplace, which may amount to a withdrawal of service (WOS) by the Agency. Due to the significant effect that such a step will have upon the commercial operation of an approved premise, the WOS would be a measure of last resort and where other options would be insufficient to protect the health and safety of FSA staff. WOS will only be applied where a single incident is considered to be of a sufficiently serious nature, or where evidence of continued or persistent bullying and harassment has been established to an extent which may pose a risk to the health and safety of FSA employees and contractors.

Slaughterhouses: Inspections

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure that slaughterhouses cease operations after receiving an unsatisfactory audit result.

Steve Brine: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for auditing slaughterhouses. When conducting audits at slaughterhouses the FSA will assess that establishments are operating in accordance with its Food Safety Management System, Food Safety Standards and has met the requirements of the Regulations. During the audits, we will consider the day to day enforcement conducted by the on-site FSA Veterinarian since the last audit. Where it is identified that the food business is not fully meeting these requirements, the Food Business Operator and FSA officials will be informed of the deficiencies identified during the closing meeting immediately after the audit and a formal Non-Compliance Report will be issued with the audit report. Any slaughterhouse receiving an unsatisfactory audit will be subject to additional follow-up audits and unannounced inspections. If the performance of the slaughterhouse does not improve and the FSA remains concerned that there is an imminent risk to the public the meat can be detained and the business closed until remedial action is taken to resolve the issue. Similarly, if the business is posing a risk to animal welfare similar measures can be imposed to require the business to remove the risk to welfare before it is permitted to recommence operations. Ultimately, if the FSA no longer has confidence in the ability of the food business to meet the required standards it may withdraw its approval. The FSA last withdrew the approval of a slaughterhouse in July 2017.

Slaughterhouses: Inspections

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department take to ensure that businesses that receive animal products from premises that have received an unsatisfactory Food Standards Agency audit result are (a) aware of that audit result and (b) protected against potential food safety risks.

Steve Brine: Audit reports are issued to the Food Business Operator, the Official Veterinarian, and Food Standard Agency (FSA) officials responsible for each establishment within 10 days of the audit taking place. The overall outcomes are provided as ‘Good’, ‘Generally Satisfactory’, ‘Improvement Necessary’ or ‘Urgent Improvement Necessary’. The outcomes of the audits conducted by the FSA are then published on its website:https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/meat/auditAudit results are published each month as part of the FSA transparency commitment. The role of the auditor is to assess that establishments are operating in accordance with its Food Safety Management System, Food Safety Standards and has met the requirements of the Regulations. Where it is identified that the food business is not fully meeting these requirements, the Food Business Operator and FSA officials for this establishment will be informed of the deficiencies identified during the closing meeting immediately after the audit and a formal Non-Compliance Report will be issued with the audit report. The outcome of these audits will determine the audit frequency so any establishment which has the outcome ‘Improvement Necessary’ or ‘Urgent Improvement Necessary’ will receive increased audits and may also be subject to further unannounced inspections. It is the role of the FSA to keep the approval granted to establishments under review. If the audit outcome does not improve, and the FSA is concerned that the manner in which a food business is operating is such that it poses an imminent risk to the public the meat can be detained and the business closed until remedial action is taken to resolve the issue. Ultimately, if the FSA no longer has confidence in the ability of the food business to meet the required standards it may withdraw its approval. Four establishments have had their approval withdrawn by the FSA in the last 12 months.

Public Sector: Food

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the revised Eatwell Guide is (a) required or (b) advisory guidance for decisions on public procurement of food and drink.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the revised Eatwell Guide on public procurement decisions on food and drink in Government Departments.

Steve Brine: The Eatwell Guide aims to assist the population in choosing a varied and balanced diet to meet latest Government dietary advice. It reflects the most up to date recommendations including those from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the consumption of sugars and fibre. The guide is suitable for everyone over the age of five years. Procurement of food within central Government Departments is determined through the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services, which include a set of minimum mandatory standards for inclusion in tender specifications and contract performance conditions. The standards are still to be aligned with latest dietary recommendations.

NHS: Pay

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what productivity gains the NHS will have make this year for staff to receive an improved pay award for 2018-19

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Agenda for Change contract in improving productivity in the NHS; and what plans he has to alter future contracts to further improve productivity.

Mr Philip Dunne: In the Autumn Budget statement, my Rt. hon. Friend the Chancellor confirmed that, in order to protect patient services he is committing to providing additional funding above the 1% per annum if ongoing discussions between National Health Service trades unions, NHS Employers and the Department on reforming the Agenda for Change contract bear fruit. The detail of how contract reform could help improve productivity is part of those negotiations.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on NHS-provided mental health services in (a) this and (b) each of the previous five financial years; and how much is planned to be spent in 2018-19.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The expenditure on National Health Service provided mental health services is shown in the table below. YearMental Health Expenditure in nominal terms (£ billions)2013-149.62014-1510.082015-1610.812016-1711.62017-1811.8 (planned) Source: NHS England Notes: These figures include clinical commissioning group (CCG) spending on mental health and specialised commissioning spending. Comparable figures for 2012-13 are not available as primary care trust disaggregation in 2012/13 meant that some areas of mental health commissioning, e.g. substance misuse, transferred to local authorities. This restructuring means it is difficult to compare spending figures across the whole period.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-UK EU-EEA citizens worked as (a) doctors, (b) registrars, (c) trainee-doctors (foundation year 1 and 2), (d) nurses, (e) health visitors, (f) midwives, (g) ambulance staff and (h) scientific/therapeutic/technical staff in (i) June 2016 and (ii) June 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the requested information is available from their publications page on the NHS Digital website at the following links:https://digital.nhs.uk/media/29350/HCHS-staff-in-NHS-Trusts-and-CCGs-in-England-Tables-June-2016/Any/hchs-june-2016-trust-ccgwww.digital.nhs.uk/media/32470/HCHS-staff-in-NHS-Trusts-and-CCGs-Jun-17/xls/HCHS_staff_in_NHS_Trusts_and_CCGs_Final_Jun_17

*No heading*

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Health Education England’s Stepping forward to 2020-21: The mental health workforce plan for England, published in July 2017, what proportion of the new mental health workforce recruits he estimates will be occupational therapists.

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by Health Education England, Stepping forward to 2020-21: The mental health workforce plan for England’, published in July 2017, how many and what proportion of the new mental health workforce recruits will be trained as occupational therapists.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The breakdown of the overall increase in workforce that the ‘Stepping forward to 2020/21: The mental health workforce plan for England’ will deliver will be defined by local needs. Health Education England is working with a number of partners, including National Health Service trusts, to assess demand and supply for clinical staff, including occupational therapists.

Maternity Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to increase support for new mothers for postnatal (a) physical, and (b) mental health.

Mr Philip Dunne: Promoting good physical and mental health support for new mothers is a key priority for NHS England, with its importance reflected in both ‘Better Births’ and the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. One of the visions of ‘Better Births’, the report of the National Maternity Review published in February 2016, includes recommendations to deliver ‘Better postnatal and perinatal mental health care’. NHS England and its partners are working on an ambitious programme to increase capacity and capability in specialist perinatal mental health services across England so that more women can access appropriate, high-quality specialist mental health care, closer to home, when they need it during the perinatal period, both in the community and in inpatient Mother and Baby Units. This transformation is backed by £365 million investment between 2015/16 and 2020/21. Other aspects of the ‘Better Births’ vision will directly improve postnatal care: continuity of carer will mean that more women see the same midwife in the antenatal period, during the birth and into the postnatal period; women will have a personalised care plan, including the postnatal period; and community hubs will make it easier for women to access a range of services which could include postnatal services, such as breastfeeding support, and perinatal mental healthcare. A Maternity Transformation Programme has been set up to implement the ‘Better Births’ vision and support 44 Local Maternity Systems to deliver local change by March 2021.

Dental Health: Children

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has made an assessment of the potential benefits to the oral health of children in England of  replicating the Scottish Government's Childsmile programme.

Steve Brine: The Scottish approach is centralised and could not be replicated directly in England as local authorities (LAs) are responsible for assessing the oral health needs of their local population, commissioning oral health improvement programmes and are not under central control. Many LAs have had programmes in place that contain elements similar to those within the Scottish Child Smile programme, for example tooth brushing programmes and community fluoride varnish schemes. Public Health England has published a number of resources and is working locally with LAs to support LAs in improving child oral health. NHS England has recently launched the Starting Well programme, which will work in 13 areas in England with the worst oral health to reach out to families with children under five who are most at risk of dental disease, who may not currently be visiting a dentist. Dental practices are currently in the process of applying to join the programme.https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/primary-care/dental/starting-well/

Department of Health: Arms Length Bodies

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many directors and senior officials in his Department's arm's length bodies received bonuses in the 2016-17 financial year.

Mr Philip Dunne: Directors and senior officials in the Department’s arm’s length bodies (ALBs), employed on the Executive and Senior Manager’s Pay Framework, are eligible for non-consolidated performance related pay awards. For the financial year 2016/17 the following table summarises the application of these arrangements by each ALB, in respect of performance year 2015/16:  ALBNumbers in receiptNHS EnglandNilNHS Digital2Health Education England6Care Quality CommissionNilNHS ImprovementNilNational Institute for Health and Care ExcellenceNilNHS Business Services AuthorityNilNHS Resolution1Human Tissue Authority1Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority1Health Research Authority1NHS Blood and Transplant3

NHS Property and Estates Review

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has been made of the effect of the establishment of wholly owned companies set up by foundation trusts to undertake facilities management on the implementation of the recommendations of Sir Robert Naylor's review of the NHS estate.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2017 to Question 108742, on NHS Property Services: Community Health Partnerships, whether a business case for the proposed new NHS property organisation has been prepared for consideration by the Government.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2017 to Question 108742, on NHS Property Services: Community Health Partnerships, whether a full business case for the proposed new NHS property organisation will be prepared and considered before a decision is made on options for the establishment of a new NHS Property Board.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Property and Estates: why the estate matters for patients (the Naylor Review) is an independent report prepared for the Department, published on 31 March 2017. The report is available on the Department’s website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-property-and-estates-naylor-review.The Government is giving careful consideration to the Review’s recommendations, including options for the establishment of a new NHS Property Board, and will respond in due course. The Department does not collect information centrally on the functions undertaken by subsidiaries established by National Health Service trusts or foundation trusts. It is for individual NHS trusts and foundation trusts to determine how best to manage their estates and facilities locally.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Christmas

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional funding he plans to allocate to Accident and Emergency departments to meet increase demand over the Christmas period.

Mr Philip Dunne: We know the National Health Service is facing increased pressure this winter and that is why we planned earlier this year than ever before to put robust plans in place. As announced in the Autumn Budget, this will be supported by an extra £335million, on top of the previously announced £100 million for accident and emergency departments and an additional £1 billion of funding to be spent on meeting adult social care needs this year, supporting the social care market and reducing pressure on the NHS.

Mental Health Services: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding has been requested for the mental heath hub in Manchester as a result of the Manchester Arena terror attack of 22 May 2017; and how much funding the Government has given to that hub as a result of that request.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England has made £1 million available for the Manchester North region for post incident health support. The Department has allocated £1.6 million to fund post incident support and has also accelerated the roll out of Mental Health First Aid training in schools in Manchester. These two figures combine to form the total funding requested by Manchester of £2.6 million over three years and will pay for staff as well as the setting up of the hub.

NHS: Expenditure

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of planned changes in the level of head-for-head NHS spending in real terms in each year of the 2017 Parliament.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Government is committed to increasing the National Health Service budget to ensure that patients can get the care they need in a financially sustainable system. The new funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2017 provides real terms growth per head for the NHS between 2017-18 to 2020-21. The profile of growth is front loaded with significant growth above real terms per head in 2017-18 (1.1%) and 2018-19 (0.7%). In 2019-20 and 2020-21 growth is maintained at the rate of real terms growth per head.

Cancer: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Cancer Alliances have been created in England and how much funding has been allocated to each Cancer Alliance.

Steve Brine: All Cancer Alliances have a delivery plan in place to deliver the recommendations of the independent Cancer Taskforce, and have received core funding to establish themselves in an alliance structure. A further £200 million has been committed in transformation funding in 2017-18 and 2018-19 to support Cancer Alliances with a particular focus on finding new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier, improving the care for those living with cancer and ensuring each cancer patient gets the right care for them. Cancer Alliances are receiving this transformation funding in phases over the course of 2017-18 based on the readiness of systems to take on the transformation work and the strength of their plans. The full investment in delivering the Cancer Strategy for England is set out in the two year progress report published in October 2017, which can be found at this link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/achieving-world-class-cancer-outcomes/  The Cancer Alliances in England are listed below.NorthCheshire and MerseysideHumber, Coast and ValeLancashire and South CumbriaNorth East and CumbriaSouth Yorkshire, Bassetlaw, North Derbyshire and HardwickWest Yorkshire Midlands and EastEast of EnglandEast MidlandsWest Midlands LondonSouth East London SouthKent and MedwayPeninsulaSomerset, Wiltshire, Avon and GloucestershireSurrey and SussexThames ValleyWessex National Cancer VanguardGreater ManchesterNorth Central and North East LondonNorth West and South West London

Cancer

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of NHS staff (a) deliver services for cancer patients and (b) will be covered by the new cancer workforce strategy.

Steve Brine: We do not collect centrally information on the proportion of staff delivering services for cancer patients. Health Education England (HEE) and NHS England are working with Cancer Alliances, charities and professional bodies to lead the development of a cancer workforce plan which will support delivery of the outcomes of the national cancer strategy and Five Year Forward View. In December 2017 HEE will publish the cancer workforce plan to 2021, setting out a series of actions to be taken as a system to ensure we have the workforce needed to deliver the Five Year Forward View commitments.

Paramedical Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the number of (a) ambulance technicians and (b) ambulance emergency care assistants working in the National Health Service; and what plans he has to register ambulance technicians and ambulance emergency care assistants.

Mr Philip Dunne: No such assessment has been made. There are no plans to extend regulation to ambulance technicians or ambulance emergency care assistants at this time. However, the Government is currently consulting on proposals for the reform of professional regulation.

Paramedical Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times ambulance technicians (a) accompanied paramedics on an ambulance callout, (b) accompanied emergency care assistants on an ambulance callout and (c) attended an ambulance callout without a paramedic or emergency care assistant in each of the last 3 years.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not centrally collected.

General Practitioners: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the commitment in the GP Forward View on recruiting 3,000 new fully-funded practice-based mental health therapists, which budget is funding those additional positions.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the commitment in the GP Forward View to recruit 3,000 new fully funded practice-based mental health therapists, by whom will those therapists be employed.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the commitment in the GP Forward to View to recruit 3,000 new fully funded practice-based mental health therapists, which practices those therapists will be based in.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the commitment in the GP Forward View to recruit 3,000 new fully funded practice-based mental health therapists, how many of those additional therapists will be (a) new members of staff and (b) existing therapists who were previously working in NHS secondary care settings.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The 3,000 new practice-based mental health therapist posts will be part of existing Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services and will be funded by those services. Throughout 2016/17 and 2017/18 the IAPT expansion has received central funding but from April 2018 this will be in clinical commissioning group allocations. Trainee course fees, and potentially an element of salary support, will continue to be paid via Health Education England. The practitioners moving in to primary care will continue to be employed by the local IAPT service. Some IAPT services are already delivered in primary care locations but NHS England expects the bulk of these additional 3,000 therapists to be co-locating to primary care as part of an integrated service. The distribution of therapists between practices will be determined by local demand and service models. It is anticipated that predominantly experienced IAPT therapists will move into primary care settings, with their current positions being back-filled and supplemented by new trainee therapists.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2017 to Question 113085, what mental health trusts he refers to when he states that there are 4,300 new members of staff working in mental health trusts.

Jackie Doyle-Price: All of the mental health trusts are referred to in the 4,300 figure, which is the net change of staff in mental health trusts.